[mou] Juvenile Mockingbird

[Thomas Maiello]

After living and birding in Oklahoma for some 20 years, I was working in 
my yard this morning in Spring Lake Park.  I heard the distinctive 
mimicry of a mockingbird.  I have never seen one in Minnesota before, 
even after 15 years.  And there in the tree nest to my house poised on 
the uppermost crown was a juvenile Mockingbird complete with faint 
breast spots and windows in its wings.  It perched for about 15 minutes 
calling its varied doublets and triplets and flew to the top of another 
tree across the street.  I studied these birds in college and know that 
they set up a perimeter around their nesting site by perching on 
selected tall tree tops and call repeatedly and seemingly forever as 
they stake their ground.  When they have young in their nest they perch 
and fly straight up and down calling in a territorial display - usually 
in early to mid summer in Oklahoma.  Mine wasn't doing that - just 
calling.   It was here for about an hour and now I don't hear or see 
it.  I am all ears though.  Are these fairly common in this neck of the 
woods or suburbs?

Thomas Maiello