Mockingbirds are found throughout the nation, and their songs reflect the world around them. As the world changes, so do their songs.
When I was a kid growing up here in San Diego, I was enchanted by the varied songs of mockingbirds. Well, except those full moon nights when the bird who claimed the tree outside my bedroom window went off at 3:00 am. Those were the times I wished for a bb gun.
Back then, their songs included a mix of other bird calls from the canyon. When we moved here, it was a new neighborhood recently scraped from the sage covered hills. The mockingbirds would imitate California Quail and other inhabitants of the coastal sage.
No more. I don't hear today's mockingbirds imitating the quail, or the chirp of ground squirrel. They're still infringing on many copyrighted songs, however.
Kingbird, sparrow, scrub jay, red-shouldered hawk, kestrel, bushtit, Coopers Hawk, redtailed hawk, goldfinch, towhee, all still present and accounted for, but the poor quail are gone. Precocial babies are easy prey for feral cats.
(side note: as the small bush bunnies have slowly disappeared, feral cats now make up part of the prey base in urban canyons. Larger hawks and owls feed on them)
I was visiting here in 1990. Standing out front, I heard a cell phone ring...from the top of a power pole! Looked up, there was a mockingbird who incorporated it into his repertoire. I was very amused by this mimic, and it got me thinking how mockingbirds reflect the wild birds in the area.
Two years ago, my father's health was failing, so I moved back home to help my mother deal with it. They'd lived in this house since 1954. I'm still here to do things my mom can't, so she can keep living here.
I was sitting in the yard yesterday, the mockingbird was going full bore from the Chinese Elm in our back yard, running through his playlist, when I noticed a new addition.
The mocker has added the cries of the wild Red-headed Amazon parrots that have established residence in San Diego County. There's a flock of seven Amazons that fly over daily, squawking loudly and calling to each other.
I so enjoy The Great Backdoors!