The mockingbirds that live in my complex have oficially begun a war against the hawks for the nesting area in the trees that line the area high above the whole area. the mockingbirds have been employing guerilla tactics, sending in one bird as soon as a hawk finds a nice branch or fence to roost on. then that one bird will fly in and suicide bomb the hawk by flying into its face. then when the hawk wakes up pissed off, a second mockingbird will shoot in from behind, and strike the hawk in the back. then the first mockingbird shoots back and hits the hawk from below. all this while shrieking imitating the hawks call and repeatedly striking the hawk in its blind spots.
the hawks then attempt to hop to a different branch to flutter a bit distance away. but the mockingbirds WANT this, because they then tag team the hawk from behind and the sides midflight.. all the while the hawk barely has the ability to fly or maneuver and the mockingbirds peck and swoop in fast to strik the hawk. the hawks never lift a talon against the mockingbirds, partly because red shouldered hawks are apparently kind and docile to other birds, and partly because they are just chill af.
every day when either bird enters the "prime nesting area" a massive dogfight begins in the air and through the trees, as the RShawks hop around and flutter from branch to branch, and the mockingbirds shoot in and out trying to hit them from blind spots relentlessly. the most amazing thing is when two mockingbirds will chase a hawk directly into ANOTHER set of mockingbirds, who literally sit in the trees hiding, waiting for the hawk. then they proceed to execute a pincer maneuver to swoop and peck at the hawk.
I am sheerly dumbfounded by the sheer military skill of these tiny mockingbirds when fighting these hawks that are like, 8x their size. all the while the hawks just take it being chill af, like they do not care; they just like to roost and hunt squirrels and things like voles. the funniest thing i ever saw was the one time the hawks had enough of the mockingbirds crap, and one hawk flew to another for safety. the second hawk just started shrieking at the mockingbirds and they flew off like a room full of roaches when a light shines on. one shriek. one shriek and the mockingbirds gave up.
meanwhile at night bats fly in and fight opossums for space in the trees, and you hear them hissing and squeaking when you walk near some trees. and the bats will climb the low trees, the roofs, and the branches, and wait for bugs to fly by or eat the berries from the trees. i literally saw a bat drop out of a tree, fly down, catch a bug, then fly back up the 2ft distance into the same tree where it just went back to chilling.
now one of the mockingbirds i rescued from dying trapped in a sealed drain spout has befriended me and my dog, and likes to "fly down and warn us" of the hawks when we come by the coveted nesting area. he even poses for pics and videos [yes I do have some taken]. The RShawks also nest in the same area every year, which means that soon the hawks from last year will return to assist the current hawks with defending the coveted nesting location. And the RShawks [who are over 28in in size] mating season is between mid june and the 3rd week of august. Soon they should be here to do their mating dances and fight everything in sight to defend for a spot in the amazing best nesting spot. Thats right.... its GOT up in here and the dragons are on their way to defend the keep.
In other news, I got to see TWO whooping cranes. With the mockingbirds in my complex and the whopping crane, I have now seen 2 federally protected species in the vicinity of my complex.
