One afternoon, my husband came inside sounding puzzled, saying that the mockingbird in our front yard had been unusually aggressive when he went out to get the mail. That evening, I spotted a young bird sitting in the yard, and suddenly it made sense. He had encountered a mother bird whose protective instincts had kicked in.
“I may seem quiet and reserved, but if you mess with my children, the mama bear in me will roar.” – Unknown
walking on a country road 
What a little cutie! 😍
It’s the first juvenile mockingbird that I remember seeing.
Or maybe it was expecting an Amazon parcel and thought he was a porch pirate?
🙂 🙂 🙂
Great photos. I love mocking birds and enjoy hearing them. They are very protective of their nests and babies and do get aggressive when someone gets near. Great quote.
Thanks, Mags. We have at least a couple that live in our front yard year-round. They can be pretty noisy, especially in the springtime.
That get a bit noisy here too.
How sweet – the meek-and-mild-mannered Mama bird was guarding her youngster fiercely. It’s so wonderful to see how protective birds and animals are of their offspring. I like the quote too. 🙂
Thanks, Linda. Unfortunately, mockingbirds can carry a grudge. I use to have a cat that they dive-bombed all the time.
I have only seen a Mockingbird once at Council Point Park – I guess it was just passing through and another walker Identified it for me as I took a photo. That is aggressive behavior, but our Red-winged Blackbirds are aggressive like that – they will attack anyone, humans or other birds that get anywhere near their nests and/or offspring. They routinely attack Sandhill Cranes. Once there was a dead Red-winged Blackbird fledgling in the middle of the path. I saw that brown body ahead of me, but didn’t know what it was, but as I neared it, the male Red-winged Blackbird dive-bombed me until I was past the body. I was amazed at that behavior since I obviously had nothing to do with its dead offspring, but in its mind, it saw me as intruding on that dead baby. Another walker saw that interaction and caught up with me and said his first time around that he had the same thing happen. At first I thought it was coming near me for peanuts as the males routinely swooped down when they saw me and I tossed them a peanut.
Wow, I didn’t realize that Red-winged Blackbirds could be so aggressive. I mainly see them when we drive to the levee and have never really had any interaction with them. Good to know.
Yes, they can be aggressive Rebecca, especially when they have young or a nest is nearby. They even attack Osprey in flight if they are anywhere near the nests. I’ve seen it when the Osprey is high up in the sky!