Beware of attack bird

Vicious attack Mockingbird - that's what we have in our yard. Last week, I was out in the front yard with my daughters. I was holding Peanut and talking with Princess. There was a mockingbird in the tree in our yard. It was squawking and fanning it's tail at us. I thought, how strange, I thought mockingbirds made pretty sounds. I went over to the Azalea bush in the yard and started pulling off the dead flowers from it. Suddenly, I was swooped at by the mockingbird. It came at me twice. I ran to the front door and called for Princess to come too. I assumed the bird had a nest in the bush and was protecting it. I told hubby about it. He laughed.

Several days later, I pointed out the bird to my hubby. Later that day, hubby was taking out some trash to the large trash cans. They are in the drive way on the other side of the bush. The mockingbird dove at him, twice. I looked up mockingbirds on Wikipedia, it had this to say:

"The Northern Mockingbird builds a twig nest in a dense shrub or tree. It aggressively defends this nest and the surrounding area against other birds and animals, including humans."

We leave the bush alone, but it is the the surrounding area that is a problem. It is our front door and driveway where we part the van. Also, to walk out to the mailbox, you enter the domain of the bird. The bird is extremely aggressive. It has come after me a number of times, hubby and several of the children. Anytime we open the front door, the mocking bird is there, in the tree watching us and squawking. It chased me down to the mailbox this morning and watched me like a hawk as I went back to the house. I went way out of the way into the yard to avoid the attack area.

So, if you come to visit my house, beware of the attack bird. I hope those eggs hatch soon. Going out to the van and buckling my kids in their car seats is getting dangerous with the attack bird coming after you. I think the next time I go out, I'm taking a broom. This is my house, My Nest and from now on, I'm going to aggressively protect my nest and my hatchling's!


photo from Wikipedia