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Mission Birds
updated: Jun 25, 2012, 9:08 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

What bird sings loudly in the late night and early morning in four consecutive different short bird melodies in the Mission Hills area?

Most recent Comments first | (reverse order)

FLICKA	2012-06-26 06:37 PM
A mockingbird harassed our cat all last summer. Where the cat went, the bird followed and swooped down to peck every so often. We always knew where the cat was because the bird was constantly harping at it. Hilarious! (kitty could have just come in the house)
COMMENT 291579	2012-06-26 02:07 PM
My husband tells me that with it so noisy during the day, the Mockingbird probably sings at night so that prospective mates can hear him. We live in a noisy world people! I wish them luck.
COMMENT 291567P	2012-06-26 01:33 PM
Yes..It is a mockingbird. Thanks for all of your answers...and I meant Mission Canyon, NOT Mission Hills. Now that I know what bird it is and what it is up to I will be able to tolerate its midnight madness a bit more!
ANIMALLISTNER	2012-06-26 12:00 PM
Comment 1159. WOW, The birds songs also remind of me of younger days spent with my dear grandmother...such soothing, wonderful sounds, and memories.....=) RIP Oma..
COMMENT 291482	2012-06-26 10:35 AM
I just LOVE listening to any bird, and the mockingbird is wonderful too -- for a while one was around here, but no longer. I miss him!
COMMENT 291481	2012-06-26 10:33 AM
Perhaps the OP is refering to the Mission Hill section of Lompoc...
COMMENT 291478	2012-06-26 10:29 AM
I LOVE the sound of the mourning doves! It totally reminds me of Hawaii... soothing and sweet like the tropical breeze. Mockingbirds? Not so much.
COMMENT 291353	2012-06-26 06:30 AM
Hey 330P, its what is known as a booty call. Humans do it all the time. 2am lower state, saw and heard several double breasted lapsitters being serenaded by prospective mates of diverse origins.
COMMENT 291330P	2012-06-25 08:54 PM
But here's the thing I don't understand. How, in a Darwinian sense, is it productive to attract a prospective mate of a different species? It doesn't seem that this is a good strategy to become 'biologically successful'. Somehow it must work though...
COMMENT 291329	2012-06-25 08:52 PM
Could it be a mourning dove? They have become very prolific in this area in the last two years? Lompoc. Refugio. SB. I never remember hearing them in this area before this. Yes in Hawaii but not California. I was told they have no natural predators around here. Birders? Help out with info if you have it.
COMMENT 291327P	2012-06-25 08:50 PM
Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. ... Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird Miss Maudie Atkinson to Scout, Chapter 10.
COMMENT 291297	2012-06-25 06:02 PM
Then again, looking back at all the comments, it looks like we're almost all in agreement. :)
COMMENT 291295	2012-06-25 05:55 PM
To add to my last comment, I wonder why we are willing to endure so many man-made sounds that intrude in our lives: chainsaws, motorcycles, loud car stereos, construction equipment, late night parties, or rock concerts that one can hear for half a mile away, etc. It seems to me that if we could choose which ones we would like to get rid of first, Mockingbirds would be at the end of the list. But then again, I'm a bird lover that has had the privilege to meet so many birds up close, so I'm definitely prejudiced.
COMMENT 291293	2012-06-25 05:34 PM
I love listening to Mockingbirds, even in the early morning hours. They used to nest at my residence for many years. Then there was a break of several years, so when I heard one again a couple or years ago, I was delighted. A few days later, I woke up to the alarm call of our female Kestrel "Kachina", (in captivity with us because of permanently damaged wing). She is smaller than most female kestrels, and her call is higher pitched and more rapid than other Kestrels'. I knew she was in trouble, and that I needed to find her quickly. She must have gotten out of her aviary. I ran out the door, following the sounds... They were made by our new Mockingbird, up by the street. He had rapidly acquired her call, and added it to his mate-attraction repertoire of sounds. I was greatly relieved when I found Kachina safe and sound in her aviary. I had a really good long laugh - once my adrenaline went down to normal. Another time, years ago, a then well-known local ballet dancer called me at 5 AM to demand that I immediately come over and remove the Mockingbird that had been keeping her awake. She also told me that she tried to call the SB Wildlife Care Network, but no one was answering (at 5AM). When I told her that there was nothing I could do and that they are a protected species, she hung up on me. Most bird species are in decline all around the world. Tolerance, compassion, and humor go a long way, folks.
COMMENT 291275	2012-06-25 03:35 PM
One near the UPS place off Pine in Old Town knew how to perfectly replicate the truck back up beeps. And I've heard perfect frog croaks, too. Course, they aren't quite as fun when you're trying to sleep and can't.
COMMENT 291267	2012-06-25 03:07 PM
One flew into my office on Saturday night. Poor thing was injured, but he allowed me to take it back outside. Tiny little things, with such powerful lungs! I love listening to them! And crack me up when they sound like car alarms!
BIPOLARESQUE	2012-06-25 01:43 PM
i called it a mockingjay, too! ha! i'm very thankful that, since they arrive around midnight, they prefer to keep their antics away from the bedroom side of the house!
MACSCIDOR	2012-06-25 01:33 PM
291181 = hilarious. With comments like yours Edhat could be a goldmine for comedy script-writers. Keep 'em coming.
AQUAHOLIC	2012-06-25 01:28 PM
Our home is surrounded by mature Oak trees, which the mockingbirds and scrub jays both try to claim as their own...I love the mockingbirds singing, even at night, which they do pretty much every night...all night. :-)
TWO ABBYS	2012-06-25 12:19 PM
I love mockingbirds and their wonderful songs! We have one that imitates the red shouldered hawk that frequents our neighborhood.
BULLSEYEB	2012-06-25 11:51 AM
I've got one that makes the best frog sound! He also tries to mimick my alarm clock which can be pretty annoying at 3:00 a.m.!!!!! :) Love my yard birds!
COMMENT 291181	2012-06-25 10:36 AM
I found myself yelling at one at 2:30 in the morning. They must be getting smarter because it mocked back, "Be fruitful and multiply", but not exactly in those words.
COMMENT 291171	2012-06-25 10:11 AM
Sorry, I'll try to stop...
COMMENT 291166	2012-06-25 10:04 AM
It's probably a Mockingjay ;)
COMMENT 291159	2012-06-25 09:58 AM
I love ours, send any you don't want over my way. My grandmother used to have one that sang to her in a lemon tree outside of her kitchen window in LA and it reminds me of visiting her when I was young.
COMMENT 291154	2012-06-25 09:44 AM
Try looking up the website "what bird" and search for Northern Mockingbird, it has a recording of their call. Keep in mind that their calls are regionally different, but you will get an idea of what they sound like. We've got one in my neighborhood who mimmicks a ground squirrel.
COMMENT 291151	2012-06-25 09:37 AM
We are smack dab in the middle of mockingbird mating season. Those miserable peckers love to sing at all hours of the morning when lookin for love. There ain't a thing you can do about it except get earplugs and wait for mating season to end.
COMMENT 291147	2012-06-25 09:32 AM
That would be a Mockingbird for sure - I call it the "car alarm bird"
COMMENT 291148P	2012-06-25 09:32 AM
My vote is for a mockingbird. They imitate anything they hear. I've heard them sound like car alarms and meowing cats.
COMMENT 291140	2012-06-25 09:22 AM
Where is Mission Hills?
COMMENT 291137	2012-06-25 09:18 AM
It's probably a mocking bird. The unmated males tend to sing all night long. They are incredibly annoying, loud, and aggressive (to anything that passes through "their" territory).
COMMENT 291138	2012-06-25 09:18 AM
Sure it's not a mockingbird? They are the most common night-singing bird.

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