My bird feeders have been sort of a neutral zone all Spring. There has been a wide variety of birds frequenting them and there have been very few skirmishes. Not at all like the hummingbird feeders which are the scene of daily wars between the various hummers. The seed and suet feeders have been relatively peaceful. Of course, there have been some issues. Some as simple as the bigger birds chase off the smaller birds, but even that was relatively calm. I have not seen much really aggresive behavior.
That all changed when the first mockingbird fledgling appeared. All at once the parent mockingbirds have claimed the feeders. No other birds are allowed to feed without being harassed. That includes the seed feeders which the mockingbirds don't use. Any chickadee or titmouse that dares to try to feed will get a fast rush from one of the parent mockingbirds. The rush is like a bullet. It is the fastest flight I have seen by them at any other time. The suet feeders, which the mockingbirds do use, are in the middle of the seed feeders but they don't care if the other birds are on the seed feeders or the suet feeders, the offending birds are chased away.
Their viligance is not continuous. There are long periods of time when the mockingbirds are not in sight. So the feeders are still available for most of the day, but when the mockingbirds return, they stay at least a few minutes chasing the other birds away. Once the other birds quit trying to feed the mockingbirds fly off. The mockingbirds are there fairly constantly during early morning feeding times and near dusk. Inbetween running the other birds off, they spend a fair amount of time feeding the fledglings. The fledglings fly to the parents and bob their heads up and down while making a soft screeching sound as they wait for the parent to drop some food into their mouths.
It has been fun watching the mockingbirds. They are the dominate birds in the area. Dominate in the sense that their conspicuous behavior and regular appearance cause them to be the bird that is most noticable. They are rather aggressive with the squirrels and the occasional cat that wanders in their territories. One male (judging by its size and nesting behavior), has even taken a peck or two at people who walked in my yard near their nest. They have never been aggressive towards me even though I have gotten fairly close to their nest. That probably has something to do with the fact that they have been taking food from my hand for weeks. Obviously they do not feel threatened by me.
I have always enjoyed watching their flash display. If you have been around them anytime at all, you have seen it. When on the ground, they jerk their wings open and up in three movements. It is rather distinctive.
The reason for the wing flashing is not really understood. The commonly accepted explanation is that it is a foraging technique. By wing flashing, the action may scare prey (insects) into moving from cover. There are other birds around the world that use this technique and they are referred to as flush-pursuers. Most of these birds have have patches of brightly colored feathers on their wings that help with the function to startler prey. The white bars on the mockingbirds could function in this manner. But what is interesting is that there are other species of mockingbird that do not have the white bars and yet they also wing-flash.
Some Orinthologist have suggested that the flashing is a startle response for predators attacking the mockingbirds. It is also used at times during courtship and in territorial displays.
Obviously, the wing-flash has a variety of functions. It is just one of the many reasons that watching mockingbirds can be so interesting.
Michael is a former biologist and Texas Master Naturalist. Originally from Newsome, Texas (Between Pittsburg and Winnsboro), educated in Dallas & Garland schools, then off to the University of Texas system where he received a degree in biology and worked as a biologist with the University of Texas system. After many years away from nature and biology, he relocated to the banks of Lake O' the Pines where he has been rediscovering the joys of nature. He is somewhat surprised that he has become a birder. Most of his interest in nature was centered around reptiles. Perhaps just like birds evolved from reptiles starting in the late Jurassic, he has begun his own evolution. During his formal education, his interests in biology/nature grew to include community ecology and population studies, all with a binding of evolutionary processes. He liked birds, but they were secondary at best. All at once he finds them fascinating.
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