Nice photo, BJ! But do not dispair..... you will hear one soon enough.
And Bonnie is RIGHT ON when she said that once you notice them, they are EVERYWHERE!! Their warbley call quite often makes me think I'm tracking another bird....and thier meeeew/waaaah often makes me think a tree limp is going to fall on my head because sometimes it sounds JUST like the squeeks of tall, skinny, swaying trees up in the canopy on a breezy day.
So far, I have heard four distinctly difference 'noises' coming from the Catbird.....
There is the one longer, warbley (I use the word warbley), jumbled song....which is often sung at different volumes. One time there was a Catbird on the ground underneath thorn bushes (ya know where deer make out a little 'den' under arching thorns??) and it was making the warbley call.....it was soooo quiet that I was forced to kick up debris to scare the bird in order to be able to see/identify it.
Then there is the call that I would assume gives this bird it's name. On certain occasions it does sound like a cat (granted a 5 hour old cat that just learned how to make a noise and hasn't opened it eyes yet....I have 5 cats and have had 4 litters.....In my opinion, CATbird isn't the best choice of names), but most of the time the call sounds like a (forgive my similie) a constipated infant. Or just a regular annoying infant. Sometimes it is a single, drawn out note.....and sometimes it is quicker notes repeated like 3 times quickly.
The third call can slightly be compared to a person typing slowly on an old school typewriter....except with a much higher pitch than a typewriter.. Perhaps, 'chtyk chtyk chtyk'...each note is one syllable.
Then there is a song that is probably just a variation of the main warbley song, but it is shorter (verse-wise) and contains more whistles and chirps than 'vowel sounding notes' (oohs, aahs, eees, etc..). I have heard the main song tranform into this song.
So perhaps it is more appropriate to say I have observed three calls. One song and two calls...with variations in the song.
Anyone here go birding in the woods?? Woods with Catbirds?? Well, with or without trails (mine is without....) the Catbird will follow you around the woods. I have an area of mixed deciduous forest behind my house that is maybe 1 1/2 square miles at the most..... I often wander around these woods looking for flycatchers, wood warblers, woodpeckers, snakes/toads/frogs/salamanders, deer, and foxes.....I have made a couple of trails, but only main ones to get from one end to the other quickly. While wanderng these woods, with no destination in mind or time constraint, the Catbirds definately follow me. I mean, they don't follow me like a dog or cat would....they continue on their Catbird business the whole time. But....they are never more than 100 yards away at any given time. And I find it very difficult to believe that there could be so many Catbirds in my small patch of woods that I can see/hear one from practically every spot in the woods. Which means....they must follow me.
I have had similar encounters with the Northern Mockingbird family that lives in my condo complex. Its interesting.....the condos (smaller complex than most, 44 three bedroom untis with attached garages, four rows of condos) are surounded one three sides by undeveloped woods, and the front side is guarded by a road, then a field on the other side. The Mockingbird and Catbirds are cousins......they live in the same areas and, besides looking similar, have similar behaviors. They evolved beside each other and one has taken to the woods and the other is accustomed to open, human laden areas. The Catbirds patrol the woods up to the very edge of the complex (hence the picture of him on the curb near the edge of the woods).....and the Mockingbirds patrol the complex itself, never going further into the woods than perching on the trees that border it.
It reminds me of Mergansers a little bit. The three species in my area also evolved along side one another. But, in order to prevent conflicts and competition for resources, one species evolved to prefer fresh water....one to brackish...and one to salt water. I'm not positive which ones are which....but I think Commons are brackish, Red-breasted are salt and Hooded are fresh....(?????). Who knows...... All i know is birds and evolution is amazingly interesting. Some of it blows my mind. For instance...... a two-toned Iris flower. WOW. Something that intricate...... which relies on other organisms to transfer pollen for reproduction....... evolved from green, flower-less spore producing and wind reproducing plants of millions of years ago. It blows my mind....
**MoJo's Warbler Watch** --> 21 species; Most recent-> Worm-eating Warbler (7/12)
**2008/Life Total** --> 169 species;
Most recent-> Laughing Gull (8/19), Clapper Rail (8/19
