In the front of my house, I have two dwarf crepe myrtle trees and one of them is home to a family of mockingbirds.
This is the third out of the last four years (that I know about) where they've made their nest in this tree. There are a lot of mockingbirds around the neighborhood, and I really didn't think too much about these until the pandemic.
While I was working from home (Paradise!!!), I heard some squeaking. I'm like what the heck is that? So I go and look and there's this bird on the porch in front of my home office window.
This didn't look like a baby. It was the size of a full-sized bird. It wasn't until a parent flew in to feed it that I realize it was a fledgling. Old enough to fly, not old enough to feed itself yet.
It's become a real pleasure to watch the birds raise their chick. Wikipedia says the clutch is three to five eggs, but I've only seen/heard one chick in all the years they've nested here. Maybe this couple only lays one egg?
Last year, my birds didn't nest in the tree and it surprised me how disappointed I was. This year they're back, and I geeked out in sheer bliss at their return. The baby fledged about 2-3 weeks ago, or so. It could be longer because I'm not home to watch them (like I should be!).
I had the coolest encounter two weeks ago. I was in the house, at the kitchen table, and I heard the squeaking. I turn to look and the baby is on the back patio! As I was watching, one of the parents flew in, fed it a bug. The baby ate it, started squeaking again, and the parent flew off to find more food. I watched for a while longer, but didn't see another feeding . Of course, the bird didn't hang around too long out there.
Wikipedia says the bird becomes independent after about 10-15 days, but again, that hasn't been my experience watching them. Could I have weirdo mockingbirds? I'm sure I have the correct bird because the tail is so long, the male and female are the same color, and they're both gray, which matches the description of the bird. The pictures match as well.
I've never been into birds, but watching this couple nest in my tree has been a delight and I hope they return next year, too.
