And he has taken a real liking to my yard. So much so that he has laid claim to all the feeders. All five of them. Hummingbird feeders included. If another bird even tries to come close to them, he chases them off, comes back to perch on top of the feeder, and puffs himself out to three times his size. My biggest problem with this is that he doesn't even eat from the feeders! He's just being a bully.
The hummingbirds are too quick for him, so they can still get their food. Having two feeders, they just zip back and forth giving the mockingbird a headache from spinning in circles.
I've seen a few collisions with robins that are hunting for worms - mockingbirds like those too and apparently feel that EVERYTHING in the yard, including the worms, is his. But today teh little bully finally met his match. Enter into the ring - The Red-Breasted Woodpecker!
This beautiful gal LOVES the feeders. I have a couple of suet cake feeders, but she prefers to peck at the plaster column that has the regular feeder on it. She shares her space. She doesn't bother the doves or sparrows or finches or any other visitor. She takes up more space, but she doesn't chase off. Well, she works her way around the column to the feeder and low-and-behold who should appear? Right, resident bully. She doesn't move but continues to eat. He even attacks her while she's eating! She politely lands on the stone ground, puffs up and begins to peck at his head! Needless to say, the mockingbird took off and left her alone. She went back to eating. And other birds started showing up again.
Now, the mockingbird is still around, but I'm hoping that he learned his lesson. Just like I can learn from the red-breasted. Share and don't be afraid to stand up for myself as well as others.
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