***Written by Brian***

You know how we feed mealworms to the bluebirds, and keep nestboxes for them. Well, this year, the mockingbirds have discovered mealtime, and two of them always come around to eat. A mockingbird is about the size and shape of a blue jay, and they’re pretty aggressive, while the bluebirds are about the size of a house sparrow and not aggressive at all.

The mockingbirds are more afraid of people than the bluebirds are, so it’s not too difficult to frighten them away without scaring the bluebirds. They’re welcome to eat, too, but the bluebirds are the primary customers.

Around thursday, we noticed one of our mockingbirds had been injured. A broken beak – missing somewhere between half and two-thirds of it. Here’s a picture, taken through the dirty glass door. A normal mockingbird beak is long and pointed.

mockingbird-broken.jpg

With that broken beak, the bird can’t pick up the mealworms. At first it was hard to tell, but by saturday evening, she was begging the other mockingbird to feed her (standing with mouth agape, like baby birds do) and actively chasing away all of the other birds.

I called the Ohio wildlife rehab people, and they said that if I could catch her, they’d take her in.

So, how do you catch a mockingbird? I thought my sister (who knows about such things) might have an idea better than mine, which was to take a swing with a butterfly net. She suggested a trap – something I could coax the bird into, and then close the door on.

I found some 2×4’s, bird netting (meant to keep them off the berries) and some thin rope in the basement. I made a big cage on the deck with a door that would fall shut with a pull on the rope.

He came back during dinner, and looked at the setup, but didn’t go in. I took it apart and decided to try again in the morning.

This morning, at breakfast time, I set it all up again and waited by the door with the trigger rope in my hand. The broken-beaked bird showed up, and set about chasing everyone else away. I looked away for a minute and when I looked back, she was inside! I pulled the rope, the door fell shut, and she was safely trapped inside.

I went out to get her, put her in a cardboard box and took her and the boys to the wildlife rehab place across town. The folks there were unsure if the beak will grow back, saying it may be too damaged, but the only way to tell is to feed her and see. The vet will be in on monday to evaluate her further.

I checked the “please call me when her issue is resolved” box, and it turns out we may be able to release her back into the wild at our house when (if) she heals well enough, which may take several months.

A pretty exciting day. And a whole new perspective on mockingbirds.