Whatbird.com

Gray Catbird

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Mitch Waite

At first I found that alarm scream thiers to be amusing but now I'm having second thoughts.

I'm out in the woods quietly nearly motionlessly hunting some warblers to film and suddenly a catbird goes into a screaming fit. I now chase it away. I'm worried the alarm call will scare away other birds.

Why do some catbirds do this? I've noticed that most dont. Just the juveniles? Adult males? Does it mean that I'm near a nest?

Am I right in thinking that the call will alert other birds to my presents and make filming more difficult?

Anyone have any tips on forest filming?

Any help would be appretiated. Thank You.

 

I've found that most times, they're making their noise to ward you off from their nesting area....they'll pretty much stop once you've passed them by. I wouldn't suggest that you chase them off, after all, you're in their territory.

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
Immanuel Kant

> alarm scream

The cat mewing sound?  I thought that qualified as a 'call' and not an alarm.  I find Catbirds relatively tolerant.  If you're hanging out quiet and motionless, IMO that's a lot better than causing a stir by chasing.  Birds react to movement, so I think chasing is worse. In my limited experience while standing quiet and motionless, I've had Titmice come up and scold me as they foraged past.  At least one of the nearby Redstarts came over to check out the hubbub, so it actually drew them closer for a moment.  After a few seconds of it, they all went back to business as usual, and I continued getting good looks at the various birds. 

I'm trying to find the reasoning behind some 'strange' catbird behavior. A friend of mine watched a catbird eat a berry, then, while perched in a bush, tilt its body sideways and lift a wing up. It then folded it's wing back up and tilted it's body even more, and it looked all fluffed up in her photos. I tried to search in Google, but could not find any explanation, just a few more photos of similar behavior, one with wings stretched out behind it, again tilting sideways, and this one had its bill open.

Some people seem to ponder if it is drunken behavior (like that in robins) but I suspected these catbirds might be sunning.