December 22, 2024 5:00 pm
Mockingbirds are not rare in Canada
Read on for a 2 for 1 day today!
B&W -no color on Mock-
Hearing a mockingbird and knowing that you are listening to a mockingbird are two very different experiences.
Walking through a field of waste-grounds near Mimico, I kept on hearing what I knew was the call of a Red-Tailed Hawk.
Once you know it, you won’t forget it.
Being in the sound recording profession, my exposure to sound-bytes and effects being laid down to film and television productions over the years, gave me some insights into some of the realisms within that world.
Sometimes, not so real!
More often than not, authenticity was integrated as close as possible.
There are scores of libraries of sound effects that are used for this purpose.
Often if the sound effect editor wanted a certain sound or a unique sound not available from the library that they had access to, the editor would take recording gear to a location and record the subject.
!!Spoiler alert!!
I had noticed on one occasion that the sound effect used, did not match the subject, that being of a Bald Eagle in a swooping dive toward its prey.
The effect used was the cry/call of a Red-Tailed Hawk!
The hawk’s call was deemed a more dramatic sound and is often used as an alternative to the eagle’s squawk. [But don’t tell anyone :-]
There you have one myth busted… sorry!
The call that I kept hearing hardly changed in distance and seemed to follow immediately after other bird calls too.
Then I realized that I was hearing a Northern Mockingbird.
It was perched on a wire about 60-70 feet away.
As soon as I spotted it, away it flew into the distance.
One might think, that hearing the call repertoire and then trying to visualize what the bird might look like, you could sense a very flamboyant and colorful species.
Perhaps nature did not intend that purpose in this instance.
Maybe if your song is profound and the coloring matches, then it may be easier to fall prey to something that is on the lookout!
I find that nature has a way and a purpose and will leave it at that point.
But Mr. [or Ms.] Mock.. you are drab to look at!
It was early evening, and I felt the day was over but decided to come back the next day with more gear hoping that the bird might return.
Interlude
Arrival at the waste-grounds in the early morning , I was greeted by an off- leash dog. There are often dog walkers at this location, but it was a little unusual not to find the owners close by. However, the entrance that I chose is covered with tall shrubs and a few trees, so owners could be just around the corner.
The dog sat by me as I struggled with my gear, camera bags, recording gear and a small pop-up camouflage tent. I intended to stay for the day.
I talked to the dog for a few moments, and it stood up and started down the trail ahead of me.
Katy the coyote mum leading the way
The dog was female, wore a thick collar and had swollen teats, she must have given birth recently. She looked behind at me as she trotted off into the beaten down tall grasses in the field.
That was no domestic dog.
She was coyote!
She should have been scared of me, and I of her, but neither of us were of each other.
That’s part of nature too.
coyote hunting prey
I watched her hunt, springing into the air as if from a trampoline, and pounce down into the grasses, flushing out small prey. A quick head shake and snapping teeth and the animal devoured in seconds. She was successful several times and kept a beady eye on my movements, or the lack of.
I was mesmerized.
katy the coyote – hi and ‘bye
After the hunt she disappeared behind a stand of trees and shrubs not to show again, probably to feed her waiting cubs in the den somewhere hidden and close by.
I found a spot to setup my temporary day camp.
Luck would be with me!
Within a few hours and being nervously startled several times with garter-snakes popping-up to investigate my intrusion on their world, the Mockingbird calls came through on my headphones.
Swiveling the shotgun microphone around, the mockingbird was easily located.
Perched on the same wire as the day before, I was not too surprised.
The calls rang out for an hour or more across the fields.
Each call was eight different distinctive bird calls, with the Red-Tail Hawk being the longest and last in the repertoire.
The below photograph shows the Northern Mockingbird giving it all it had with the dramatic hawk call.
givin it
Some examples of the Northern Mockingbird
I will upload my recordings soon so that you can hear what Mr [or Ms] Mock had to say… please check back and subscribe to my nature blog!
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