I'm delighted for you, and them. How exciting... and a great rose to nest in, being one you wouldn't want to mess with too much...

Well I certainly can't get close enought to prune TG. It's a bit of a mess but I'll get to it after the juniors fly off (I'm hoping!)

View1ny, I love all the interesting things birds do in our gardens. I hope you eventually get a photo of the nest at least. I've had finches build nests in my long gone New Dawn at the highest point in the arbor. Downside is it rains bird poop on your head when you are dead heading the blooms (until you figure out what's going on up there). Diane

Be careful, mockingbirds are very territorial. We get them every year near our porch and it's a battle of wills for us to sit out there. I think the mocks finally accepted us.

They're teasing the Georgia mockingbirds by nesting in that particular rose.

......you won't be able to sleep.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zd6Iy4JuGk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMpe34Aign4

Wonderful, view1NY. I hope the birds hatch safely. Thanks for the youtube links, summersrhythm. It might wake everyone up, but those bird calls are much nicer than car alarms, leaf blowers and other urban sounds.

Lol Jasmine, glad you liked it. I won't be able to sleep with that bird screamer, it will last longer than any urban sounds, will be all day all night long, and day after day, year after year. Have a bird nest under the roof, they won't move after years, and have many nests on a pine tree next to the driveway, they scream, and poop like lightning and rain, have to wash my cars every the other day..,,,,, got a pressure washer to clean the tree, they have to move to far far away. :-)

View1NY, I love to watch Mockingbirds do their calling then jump straight up in the air. AND they never shut up, even at night!!!! lol

Summesrhythm, If you think mockingbirds are bad just wait until you have a few hummers fly past your head at mach-2 or 3. :-)

Oh no! I had quite a shock today. I saw a big black cat on my deck and went out to shoo it away from the birds. The cat took off & I wondered why it was so quiet. No birds flying overhead or on the telephone wires.

The nest was tilted on its side & I could see it was empty. One baby bird was lying dead on my deck and the other was hanging off the side of the nest, also dead. One of the stems used to make the nest was wrapped around its neck.

I feel so sad. It was such a wonderful thing to have signs of life and birth and family life right in front of me. I wonder if the wind or the cat knocked the nest off. Whatever it was, both babies & parents are gone.

So sorry. Cats that roam can be a problem for birds.

Thanks Buford. There's such a difference looking out my window today vs just 2 days ago when the whole bird family was doing so well. Today all I see are rose bushes!

Awwww. :( That's too bad. :(

That's a hard thing to see when you've got so much anticipation and satisfaction from seeing the birds using your roses. It's like you're providing this safe sancturary, and then it isn't.

:(

Carol

Crows?

Oh my goodness!!!! That is so precious!!!!

Yes, they were pushy & aggressive but I still loved having them. On Saturday I could barely go out on my deck without them flying over my head trying to scare me off. I thought it was so wonderful that the parents were just trying to protect their babies.

I

I wonder where the parents are assuming they're still alive. If anyone knows anything about mockingbird behavior, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know if parents typically take off when their nestlings die:(

We love having them too. They built that nest in the honeysuckle I have growing around a birdhouse pole. The sparrows were nesting in the birdhouse and the Mockingbirds dive bombed them until they gave up and left then the Mockingbird built right below the birdhouse. That little guy was the only baby they-- had one more egg never hatched. Now, three weeks later either they or another pair have babies in a Rose of Sharon.

It's upsetting when you see what can happen with any of the birds. We've had 2 oriole nests blow out of trees eggs in them.

I love mocking birds, they are our state bird, I live in Texas and they are fierce lol. I don't know if they leave their nest alone if their babies die but I do know that at some point they kick their babes out of the nest before they can fly because they get to big for the nest and they take care of them on the ground. I have rescued many baby mocking birds from cats and other larger birds. The momma and daddy will protect their babies as best as they can, I have found them in my garage and I usually put them in the shrubs and the parents will find them. They also teach them to fly from the ground, it's fun to watch a baby MB follow its mom all over the yard with short burst of air time until they finally take off. I am sorry something happened to your baby MB, I bet the mom and dad tried really hard to save it from that cat, and yes I think the cat did it!

I used to look upon the cats that wandered onto my deck with a very kindly eye. A few months ago I had a mama cat and two kittens playing behind my potted roses and I got a big kick out of watching them.

I won't be able to look at them in the same way now even though of course I realize that all creatures need to eat.

My husband rescued a dove that a neighbors cat had managed to catch last week. We have always liked that cat and pet it when it visits but now we give it the stink eye when it comes around lol. I understand the circle of life and the food chain and all that jazz but it's different when you see it yourself and have to pick up dead baby birds off your porch.

That's exactly how I feel

People really shouldn't let their cats roam like that.

Can't blame the cats, only the owners who let them wander.

Actually, the cats who wander on my deck are stray and not pets. A neighbor a few houses down feeds them & the cats seem to be looking for a place to hang out.