I am always struck as summer transitions into fall how even the non-migratory birds are moved to a frenzy. Every wing is fluttering madly about – every bird stuffing itself with seeds and berries. I used to muse (probably heard it from my father) that the sparrows and starlings were arguing in great avian counsels whether or not to migrate. We hear a chirp or a litany of chirps and wonder “who dat?” More often than not the answer is that the sound is from a northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos – the multi-language mime).

The other morning at the Allyn Cox Reservation I took the photograph of Figure 1 of a mockingbird singing in defiance of a windy early autumn morning.

Canon T2i with EF 100-400 mm F/4.5 to 5.6 L IS USM lens at 375 mm, ISO 100 Aperture Priority AE Aperture Priority Mode 1/4000th sec at f/7.1 with no exposure compensation.