Chimney Mockingbird

Saturday 22 July 2017

We moved in to our home in 2011, and when we arrived, we inherited many plant and bird species. It was a joy seeing all that spring and summer brought, but of special interest to me was the Mockingbird who sat on the chimney and sang to me in the mornings. As the long days peaked, he grew even braver and would fly down to the sidewalk, and we would just stare at one another. I tried getting closer, but 10 feet was close enough for him. Then he would fly back to the chimney and just sing to me. Being utterly tone deaf and a poor whistler, I tried to "sing" back to him best as I could. Sad though my efforts were, he afforded me leeway and sang back to me. Usually, he would leave around the Fourth of July, and just prior to leaving, he always sang longer and roosted longer on the chimney. He would follow me, hovering just above as I walked around watering my plants and puttering in the garden. He would be gone the next day. I always wished him well and eagerly awaited his return the following year.

Memorial Day 2017 came and went, but my special Mockingbird did not. I had a Mockingbird family nest in my Knockout Rose Bush which I have let become a tree, and still, my Chimney Mockingbird had not arrived. After enduring a really rather dry April, both June and July were record rainfall months, with more than 11 inches of rainfall by mid-July, my Dad and I came to the conclusion that he must have died. However, as I was bent over picking okra mid-Saturday morning (22 July), I was strafed from the south. When I looked up, there he was on the chimney singing. This Mockingbird trills just slightly different from the other Mockingbirds who visit our home, plus, he is the only one who has ever sat atop the chimney. It is his spot, and his spot alone. I was ever so glad to see him, and am curious about his appearance, which occurred after we had no rain for the eighth consecutive day--a first for this year's May, June, and July. I wonder if he is farther south during the rainy parts of the season, and makes his way farther north as the lack of rains dry out an area? Either way, I am glad to know he is well and trilling his beautiful song.

Posted on 23 July, 2017 05:23 by flyfshrgrl