Advice on Mockingbird problem needed ASAP!

[gardenorganic]

Hi Folks,

Has anyone out there had any luck with getting rid of an annoying Mockingbird without hurting/killing it??

Unfortunately a pair have been hanging out in a tree very near my bedroom window and besides doing their crazy calls almost all day, they appear to be gathering things to make a nest, which means they'll be here for a while - oh no!

The tricky issue is the tree is on someone else's property...

So if anyone has any ideas/suggestions about how I might get them to "move on" and away I would greatly appreciate it!

Frazzled and sleepless,
Rhonda

[Dynamique]

Try hanging a strong magnet or electromagnet as close to the tree/nest as you can get it. Birds that fly use the Earth's magnetic field as a navigation guide, and a strong magnet interferes with that sense. It's like a strong smell to a human. It does not hurt them (well, maybe if they get lost...) but it does make the area less than cozy.

A few years ago Real Goods carried a product called "Bye Bye Birdie" which is basically a large magnet in a shiny housing. The product blurb claimed that magnets had been used -- successfully -- to keep seagulls out of landfills! If that's the case, they should help convince your mockingbird pair to find new digs. If you try it, please let us know how it worked.

Has anyone out there had any luck with getting rid of an annoying Mockingbird without hurting/killing it??

[Si'paz]

...

So if anyone has any ideas/suggestions about how I might get them to "move on" and away I would greatly appreciate it! ...

i really cant believe im reading this, i sleep with earplugs all the time they work great especially the 33 decibel ones i just reuse em bring em to concerts, when travelling in the rainforest,anywhere, im sure the bird is trying to figure out how to remove the annoying human, who's home is it?you if you cannot sterilize your headspace then dont sterilize the environment please, we need fertility

[tezor]

First off, I do agree it is better to get used to the noise, I lived next to a train track once with a 3 am train every other day, didn't take long... but another thing is those plastic owls that people put in gardens, on boats, ect... just a thought, get some sleep. Peace, tezor.

[Si'paz]

From a friend who's knowledgeable about birds:

The Northern Mocking bird is a common permanent resident of Sonoma County.I don't know why anyone would hang a magnet to disrupt the migration pattern when it's not migrating. It's spring so they are building nests and doing their mating, so it is a temporary thing.

Unfortunately, she didn't see the part where you indicated they were making a nest. I sent a post just now to clear this up.

Dian

try the wax earplugs, or just exercise more, ive slept right next to live concerts without any earplugs after dancing the night away

[pl4kuc]

see (via googling): https://www.dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/abmockbird.html

***
I am sorry that the negatives you have exceed the positives of these birds presence. When I lived in Berkeley one I estimate about 50-100 feet away could hear, through my single small open bedroom window, my generic-sound alarm clock (cute "beep" x 4), and sang it back to me several times over 2 years.

We always have mockingbirds year-round in our place in downtown Santa Rosa, singing whenever the weather approaches nice. Their presences indicate that like the canary in the mine, all is at least liveable nearby, so I keep keenly aware of their activities, for that & many reasons. They have voracious appetites, so having them present is a great positive on getting rid of bugs we don't want around. I've only seen them eating berries extremely rarely. They are obviously very intelligent, know who should be living where, and treat us as commensal symbionts. They're not particularly fond of scrub jays, but who is?

So you CAN give the mockingbirds the hint that they are not wanted, by being direct & rude to them, (use gestures and talk directly to them, looking at them in the eye, as to a human), like you could to any homeless person, and they will get the idea & leave. No guarantees that another mockingbird or 2 won't try again in a few months or years, given that you live in a place which they too find basically attractive.

[gardenorganic]

I really appreciate the thoughtful suggestions from all who responded, and I'd also like to say that if there was ever a person who respects/loves Mother Nature and all her creatures, and who has worked for years, relentlessly to save/help in whatever way she can, it's me! So "Ouch!" to those judgements!

And like the previous post (thank you) some of us including me, cannot wear ear plugs. Mostly, this is a huge issue because I am ill, and the lack of sleep/rest is affecting my healing...and although I would love to go out and exercise heavy duty to help with sleep, I can't for the same reason. (although would love to!)

I just wanted to see if the bird could be deterred to move to another tree, and I could get the rest/sleep I so desperately need. Hey all you healthy, sleep-easy people: please know how lucky you are!

Blessings to All, including the bird! And thanks again for the suggestions.

[nicofrog]

No Problem!
Just when you hear the mocking bird "singing" put on a warm bathrobe, go out and sit on a bench or a stump about 25 ft. away ,and start to whistle as loud as you can , try to imitate the bird's calls.
Do this every night for about a week during springtime,and if you are lucky,the mocking bird may imitate one of YOUR calls! this will mean the bird has fallen in love with you, and trouble will begin to brew in the nest!
If you do this every year the Mocking bird, who's families have been blessing your valley or hillside with their sacred song for centuries MAY
elect to make you an honorary member of the royal society of mocking bird sympathizers . at which point you will forever after take delight in their beautiful song. or get some earplugs and leave the bird alone!
Good Luck,I wish you could tell the bird to come where we live and sing,but I don't think they like freeways, by the way, know any way to get sirens or helicopters to shut up...and then there's those Harleys.
Nico

{edit}oops ok I just read the other postings sorry if I sounded sarcastic
But once YEARS ago I moved next to a chicken coop in Hessel talk about birds! 200 roosters at 5 am every morning, how was I to sleep? the problem lasted about a week then the mind "Tunes out" the roosters and we sleep.

another instance was living in a primitive Huichol Indigenous village in the high desert mountains of mexico. Little dogs had a high pitched problem with some night sounds around once every half hour, then as they chilled off went the donkeys, then the roosters who didn't seem to have a keen sense of when morning was and kids and grownups laughing , talking loudly, drunk or singing for the love of it at all hours especially around 3 am
then the dogs again,etc. as you said I was going CRAZY then I just learned to relax and "assimilate the sounds, they are nature, I am nature maybe I ll go outside and holler! Again good luck!!

[Tars]

I guess I'm lucky. Whenever the mockingbirds sound off around our house, the local scrub jays swoop in & chase them off. Where I'm lucky is that I like the sound of scrub jays. My wife disagrees.

[Crestone]

I wish you could send them over to our house. I love to listen to mocking birds sing - I think their songs are beautiful and relaxing. When I moved from Boulder to Los Angeles, I was freaked by all the noise day and night, and the lack of mother nature. Then a mocking bird moved into my back yard and sang all night long. That bird saved me. His(her) voice gently lulled me off to slumber night after night. And when I woke up in the night I felt safe and comforted by the song being sung to me.

[Owltalk]

A few years ago I had the pleasure of having a mockingbird arrive in my neighborhood. It started in between 12:30 & 1:00 one night.

I lived in Suburbia at the time so I was very close to each neighbor; sides and back. I had a friend over and we were on our way to bed when the bird started singing. I thought it was wonderful.

Just as I got out of the shower, my phone was ringing. I couldn't catch it but could hear a message. Again, this was 1:00 in the A.M.. I went and listened to the message and it was my neighbor next door. She had previously had problems with my lights being on in my bedroom and keeping her up (my shades were drawn). The message went something like this. "Would you please turn off that "thing" that keeps going off in the backyard!". Hmmm? I opened my backdoor and looked out expecting to see sparks or something but I saw nothing so I called her.

I asked what it was the was going off because I was very concerned about some hazard and she said the noise. I thought about it and realized she was talking about the mockingbird. She thought I had a speaker out there! I could not convince her it was a bird because it made a different call each time. I told her to go back to bed. I was amazed.

I then got in bed and turned on my sound machine. I never heard another thing. They are worth their weight in gold. Barking dogs, no problem. Loud parties, no problem. Mockingbirds, no problems!

I later teased the husband and said people from Wisconsin evidently didn't know what a bird sounded like. He said that they knew a bird still not convinced. I laughed every night for the next couple of months when like clock work at 12:30 to 1:00 A.M. the mockingbird would start up and it never made the same sound twice. I never heard a peep out of my neighbors about the bird again.

[Carl]

Nico has the best advice, I think. The mockingbird's sound is unique, and imitative and somewhat intelligent. That is one reason it catches our ears, it is never quite the same, always changing. It is hard to ignore it.

But I agree that whistling with one is a wonderful challenge. It will develop your abilities, that is for sure. And at least it gives you a handle on what you are dealing with. An intrusive bird? Or a defensive Momma? Or a musician in training? You decide.

Anyway, try some other intrusive sounds on for size and then come back to Mockingbirds. Get some perspective. "Nurture Nature or it will Neuter You."

No Problem!
Just when you hear the mocking bird "singing" ...

[Dynamique]

We tried the big magnet in our fruit orchard and it seemed to give the bluejays, etc., the hint to go away and eat somewhere else. However, since I did not do any statistical tallying or analysis, I'm certainly not claiming that a magnet is a slam-dunk solution or works 100%, etc.

Depending on the size and strength of the magnet, their effective area is a pretty small sphere, somewhere in the neighborhood of a 10 ft. radius. Therefore, a magnet out in the yard or tree will do nothing to disrupt or otherwise interfere with migration. It just creates a small area that is uncomfortable for flying birds.

Birds can absolutely detect a strong local magnetic field. A few years ago on a science/nature show, there was some footage of a flock of cranes responding to an electromagnet about 50 feet away being turned off and on. When the e-mag went on, they all cocked their heads toward it and changed position, just like iron filings next to a magnet. A geologist had discovered this phenomenon by accident when he was using a device with an e-mag to do some readings. He noticed that when he turned the e-mag on, the birds on the other side of the lake responded. They did not have this response to other actions, movements, noises, etc.

A fake owl, especially one that moves, or other traditional scarecrow methods are worth trying as well. It sounds like what everyone wants to avoid is recurring noise or something that would harm the birds -- or anything else.

I respectfully doubt birds care a whit about a hanging magnet. It's probable they use the earth's magnetic field for migration, but that is quite different than going to and from their nest, and the earth's magnetic field is many orders of magnitude stronger than any manmade magnet.

A fake owl placed in the tree or a mirror might be a much better deterent.

[scamperwillow]

OK while we are on chasing birds away, anyone know how to discourage a pair of nesting sharp-shinned hawks? We have a delightful colony of nesting squirrels in our little neighborhood and we are afraid the hawks are eating them all - or at least scaring them off. also, the birds have decreased since the hawks have made their presence loudly known.

I used to think it was cool to spot hawks until I realized they were eating our precious squirrels and song birds....probably not much we can do, but any ideas welcome... (no guns please!)

I would LOVE to have a mockingbird nearby. I am a very light sleeper but learned to sleep through a cable car going right under my window when I lived in SF.

[Moon]

Just one more thing i'd add to the advice: If anyone ever does use an owl or cat shape suspended by a rope
so it moves, it works best if you make the eyes of something that releases light over night (& highly reflective.)

[off2socal]

ok everybody is complaining about the noise.. I have a mockingbird that keeps attacking my cat and i dont know what to do about it. My cat cant even walk 5 feet without being divebombed any suggestons???

[vdeva]

ok everybody is complaining about the noise.. I have a mockingbird that keeps attacking my cat and i dont know what to do about it. My cat cant even walk 5 feet without being divebombed any suggestons???

I'd never heard of this. I thought you were going to complain about the constant singing. I had a Mockingbird copy the song of the Swainson's Thrush I had put on my answering machine one year.

[paulswetdog]

Parent birds do that to protect their young. It seems pretty admirable to me. I'm sure your cat will survive. In fact, I have never seen a cat killed by any songbird, despite the fact that such killing would be completely justified.

[onthewing]

Are people really complaining about the noise? Earplugs are cheap.
Your mockingbird is protecting his/her young from a dangerous predator. The behavior is to discourage your cat from being near the nest. If you don't want your cat attacked, keep it inside until the nesting season is over. Mockingbird babies are susceptible to hawks, crows, owls, ravens, domestic cats, raccoons, foxes, possums and tree-trimming humans. Give 'em a chance.

ok everybody is complaining about the noise.. I have a mockingbird that keeps attacking my cat and i dont know what to do about it. My cat cant even walk 5 feet without being divebombed any suggestons???

[oliviathunderkitty]

Another way to think of this is that your cat is getting a great lesson. It happens at my house every spring and one year I watched as one mockingbird teased Jamaica out from under my car. Each time she came out, the bird's mate would dive bomb her and she would run back under the car. Prior to this, she had caught a few birds.

After: Never ever again.

This only happens in the spring and it is a great service to all other songbirds. With luck, it will turn your cat's attention away from critters than fly to those that burrow, i.e., gophers.

Parent birds do that to protect their young. It seems pretty admirable to me. I'm sure your cat will survive. In fact, I have never seen a cat killed by any songbird, despite the fact that such killing would be completely justified.

[scamperwillow]

Keep your cats inside during nesting season:

Baby Songbirds
By Veronica Bowers
It’s Spring and our feathered neighbors are busy building nests and raising families. Wild birds live among us in our gardens and parks, natural and urban areas. Some birds nest high up in trees, others nest low to the ground, some use nest boxes and others share our human dwellings.

Baby songbirds are vulnerable and sometimes they are genuinely in need of human assistance, but how can you tell? Baby birds go through many stages of growth and development before they become independent and no longer require the care of their parents. Their behavior and need for parental care varies at each stage of development.

If you encounter a baby bird that you suspect may need to be rescued, some knowledge of the development of baby songbirds is helpful. Hatchling songbirds are naked, featherless, and helpless; their eyes are closed during the first few days of life. At this stage, they are in the nest, not on the ground. Without the constant care of their parents, they will quickly die of hypothermia and starvation.

Nestling songbirds are still nestbound and very dependent on their parents for care, but their eyes are open and they are vocal at this stage. Their bodies will be covered in pin feathers (feathers which are just developing and still covered in a keratin sheath). Older nestlings will have mostly feathered bodies, but their tail and wing feathers are still growing in. The length of the nestling stage for songbirds varies from species to species, but is usually 10-14 days from the time they hatch.

Swallows and swifts are an exception as they remain in the nest until they are approximately 21 days of age. Nature’s plan for baby songbirds is for them to grow quickly so they can leave their nest quickly. As prey species, the longer they’re in the nest, the more vulnerable they are to predators.

Fledgling is the stage of development that we receive the most calls about at The Songbird Hospital during the baby bird season. It is important to know that most songbirds leave the nest BEFORE they’re able to fly. In much the same way human toddlers crawl before they can run, songbirds hop and walk around on the ground before they’re able to fly.

The only exceptions to this are SWALLOWS and SWIFTS – these birds are flight capable when they are ready to leave the nest on their own. The majority of fledgling songbirds are well feathered on their body with short wing and tail feathers. They’re able to stand, walk and hop and they may be able to make short flights from branch to branch or from the ground up to low branches. They are vocal and mobile, but still dependent on their parents for care. During this stage they are commonly observed on the ground, out in the open, on branches, in bushes – they’re all over the place!

Although the parents may not be with their fledgling every second of the day, they remain in vocal contact at all times. Additionally, the location where you observe the baby is the parent’s territory, so mom and dad are always nearby. It will take a few days to a full week before young songbirds can fly well enough to attempt to keep up with their parents and evade danger. They are vulnerable and naïve at this age.

If you have outdoor cats, the kindest thing you can do for the birds is keep your cats indoors. Or at the very least, keep cats indoors during breakfast and dinner time or until fledgling songbirds are fully flight capable. So, what do you do if you find a baby bird?

Now that you know a little about their normal development, here are some steps to follow that will help you determine when a baby bird may need your help.
1. Is the bird sick or hurt? Is it bleeding, unable to flutter its wings or stand, weak, shivering, covered with insects? If yes to any of these, bring the baby to The Songbird Hospital ASAP.
2. Did the bird have contact, or suspected contact, with a cat? Bring the bird to The Songbird Hospital ASAP. Cats have bacteria in their mouth and claws that is lethal to birds.
3. Is it a hatchling on the ground? If it is a hatchling, bring it to The Songbird Hospital ASAP. To rescue or not to rescue? That is an excellent question!
4. Is it a nestling on the ground? If it is a warm healthy nestling, can you find the nest? If yes, put the baby back in the nest and observe the nest from a distance for one hour. If the parents return to care for the baby, everything is okay. If the parents do not return after one hour, or you cannot find the nest, call The Songbird Hospital ASAP for further advice. 5. Is the baby a healthy fledgling, hopping around and vocalizing? Make sure the area is clear of pets and people. Are the parents caring for the baby? Watch the baby for one hour, non-stop. If the parents are caring for the baby, everything is fine and you can leave the area. After careful observation, if the fledgling is truly orphaned, bring it to The Songbird Hospital ASAP.
6. Is it a healthy fledgling in an unsafe place, like the middle of the street? It is okay to move the baby to the nearest bush, or low tree limb. Birds have a poor sense of smell, so the parent birds will not abandon their baby if a human has touched it.
7. Is it a swallow or swift on the ground and unable to fly? Bring it to The Songbird Hospital ASAP. To safely transport a bird to The Songbird Hospital, prepare a container, such as a shoe box lined with a soft cloth. Make sure the box has a lid and ventilation holes. Carefully place the baby in the box, put the lid on and keep the baby warm, dark and quiet. Do not offer it any food or water. Bring it to The Songbird Hospital ASAP.

The Songbird Hospital is a program of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue. We are located at 8050 Elphick Road in Sebastopol. We are a non-profit, allvolunteer organization. Please contact us at (707) 484-6502, or visit us www. songbirdhospital.org Please remember that all native songbirds are federally protected and can only be cared for by a wildlife rehabilitator that is licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Songbirds have very specific dietary needs, requirements for housing, care and release back to the wild. To ensure the best chance for survival and release back to the wild, please bring injured, orphaned and ill wildlife to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator so that the animal receives proper medical care by a trained professional.

Veronica Bowers, Director The Songbird Hospital of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue www.songbirdhospital (707) 484-6502

[greenheart]

I'd never heard of this. I thought you were going to complain about the constant singing. I had a Mockingbird copy the song of the Swainson's Thrush I had put on my answering machine one year.

I've done some personal research into mockingbirds and found they are fiercely territorial and protective against any threat. Even red-tail hawks won't mess with them. I'm surprised they have a thing about the cat, but there must be a perceived threat. And I'm with you on the song; it's beautiful and fascinating, but gets repetitive and insistent after a while, like an exotic cel tone that won't quit ringing. They own the territory, you just happen to live in it. A lesson for all of us...

[Eric K]

I'd never heard of this. I thought you were going to complain about the constant singing. I had a Mockingbird copy the song of the Swainson's Thrush I had put on my answering machine one year.

Cat karma at work? How many birds have fallen prey to domestic cats? Finally, JUSTICE! Alfred Hitchcock would be proud...

[Star Man]

Hi Folks,

Has anyone out there had any luck with getting rid of an annoying Mockingbird without hurting/killing it??

You might try hanging long, thin strips of reflective Mylar around the area. Rice growers use these strips to keep blackbirds out of their fields.

Be very grateful that you don't have Kookaburras in your yard. If you think a Mockingbird is annoying....

[wildinspired]

Must be a nest nearby. I'd call the bird rescue people for advice.

I'd never heard of this. I thought you were going to complain about the constant singing. I had a Mockingbird copy the song of the Swainson's Thrush I had put on my answering machine one year.

[onthewing]

Can't you just learn to live with this inconvenience for the nesting season? We are encroaching upon the habitat of many wild creatures, forcing them to live in close proximity to humans. Given a choice, I'm sure that they would prefer not to live in your backyard. However, mockingbirds have EVOLVED to live in neighborhoods because we have usurped their historic habitat. The survival of many songbirds is at great risk. We should all do our part to assure that they are able to raise sucessful broods.

Many of these suggestions to discourage the birds from nesting are unethical if not outright illegal. If you want information about what is allowable, consult with the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game.

[Karen the KAT]

You might try hanging long, thin strips of reflective Mylar around the area. Rice growers use these strips to keep blackbirds out of their fields.

Be very grateful that you don't have Kookaburras in your yard. If you think a Mockingbird is annoying....

Record the sounds of various raptors such as a red-tail hawk, or Peregrin Falcon off the internet, make a loop, and play the file loudly on a good quality speaker outside ONLY when you see him. He will soon leave your neighborhood alone (As will most smaller birds if you play the file too much, such as when he isn't there).

Works on Starlings in vineyards quite effectively...

[greenheart]

I'm once again shocked at the way people are insensitive to other people, but will go to the ends of the Earth to protect a single bird.........
....

No comment on the politics KAT, but I do have to agree with you that, at least in my case, I responded without really relating to the sleep difficulty this is causing for gardenorganic, and went right into my own thoughts about mockingbirds. Once I find some useful and practical ideas -- which would be the true request that gardenorganic made -- I'll pass them along. So, even though you did it in a roundabout way, you did bring the value of compassion into the thread. Thanks for that.

[oliviathunderkitty]

The post that started this thread is from March, 2007, so it is likely safe to assume that the original problem sorted itself out, with, I hope, healing sleep for the troubled human and fledged youngsters for the mockingbirds . It would be interesting to know how the situation resolved itself so if someone does know, please, tell us.

[Barry]

The various political posts that have arisen on this thread have been split off to a new thread:

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/wacco...on-reagan.html