Fire Sirens in My Backyard

We have a mockingbird. And it’s not LittleBrother, though he does repeat any and everything that anyone happens to say. Ever. So, I guess we have a mockingbird inside and outside. This post, however, is about the mockingbird outside.

He/she/it/they is/are living in the pine tree at the corner of our yard. I didn’t know about their nest until yesterday evening. I have experience with mockingbirds as my parents have had two sets on The Farm, nesting behind their house for the past few years. I slept at my parents with the windows open once last year and woke up with a bird frantically cycling through multiple bird songs and random sounds. Over and over and over and over. By 9:15, I wanted to shoot the thing, ala Failure to Launch. I didn’t. I can’t even shoot a water gun. Wouldn’t have worked.

Last night, my mom and I were sitting on my deck, talking over some coffee. I heard a siren. I listened closely because that’s what fire spouses do. Nothing. We went back to talking. The siren sounded again. Just the two woo-woos that you normally pick up on first. I stopped talking again. Nothing. A few seconds later, the siren went off again. In the pine tree. Followed by the awful sound that is the mockingbird’s actual bird call. I twitched as my mom said, “You have a mockingbird!”

Great.

I didn’t even know that mockingbirds could imitate sirens. This is not a good thing. Every time I hear a siren in the background of a song on the radio, I think I’m being pulled over. When my children are playing with one of their many fire trucks, most with obnoxious sound effects, I think that there’s an emergency on a nearby street. Now when I’m outside, free from noisy-tech toys, I’m going to think that a fire truck is about to careen through the pine tree. Except that it’s not.

As I read more about the mockingbird, I’m further annoyed.

They sing a long succession of notes, and phrases, which will be repeated several times, and then changed. The call phrases can be imitations of songs of other birds. Other sounds are a raspy chijjjand a harsh chewk. The male sings in the spring, and both birds will sing in the fall. They will often sing long into the night.

Long into the night? (Quote: What the [heck] kind of Devil bird chirps at night?!) Sirens and long successions of notes and phrases? And eventually more than one? To make it all the more awesome, they dive bomb anyone who comes near their nest, humans included. Sounds fun. (Speaking of sounds, you can listen to a long phrase at this link. No sirens though.)

Whatever the case, I find it somewhat amusing that a mockingbird with a specialty for fire siren sounds has decided to nest in the yard of a firefighter and his family. I would say it was fitting or appropriate if it didn’t make me so twitchy. I will, however, try to catch a photo of the noisy offender in the near future. With or without water gun in hand.