<05/19/2010: update to original post>
The little guy featured below, along with his mom, has taken up residence in our yard. I hear him peeping and whistling regularly – and see him hopping around the yard with his mom supervising while foraging for food. He’s about 4 times the size he was when I took this photo and seems healthy and happy.
<end of update>
It’s not every day you get to see a baby Mockingbird up close and personal, but Mother’s Day is not like every other day, apparently in more ways than I thought.
After everyone had left for the day, I notice something unusual right where my daughter’s Smart Car had just been only moments ago. It’s mostly the same color as the concrete driveway it’s sitting on, but so small I’m not sure what I’m seeing at first. As I move closer, I find we have a baby Mockingbird parked in the middle of our driveway and his (I’m assuming by the attitude it’s a HE) mother is fluttering around our roofline in a very agitated state and whistling up a storm at me. Our little guest isn’t moving a muscle. (“Go away! Nothing to see here. No baby birds on this driveway. Keep moving.”)
So I hustle inside for my camera and rush back out to capture the moment. Amazingly, the little guy is right where I left him and doing his best to stare me down. About 15 or 20 exposures later, he still isn’t moving, which leads me to believe he may be injured, as opposed to just separated from his nest and unable to return under his own power.
After putting my camera away and updating my wife on my discovery, I head back out to check on the little guy and he’s nowhere to be found. I look everywhere in the general vicinity, assuming he can’t be too far away when I hear what sounds like a baby bird peeping and another bird responding. Scanning the neighborhood I see our little refugee hopping along like mad on the other side of the street and darting across the intersection at the frantic urging of his mother, who’s trying successfully to lure him to the safety of the nearest tree.
So far, so good. And here’s the little tyke in all his glory:
Baby Mockingbird