Besides those cat type calls they make that gives them thier name they also love to sing a squeekly batch of songs that are sorta mimics like the mockingbirds do. But while the Mockingbirds sound like whatever they are copying the catbirds do a really poor job of it but do just happily sing away. So if you hear squeeky clattery songs coming from nearby shrubs go look for catbirds.

Margaret & Rita, I know their noises b/c we had them down south. I love them & their weird sounds. I'm just hoping there are some around here --- ie: on our property & maybe I just haven't glimpsed or heard them yet. I sure hope so! They don't eat seed so no enticing them that way.

They do love grape jelly so maybe give that a try. And they love blueberries and serviceberries. They can eat those berries off the shrubs all day long.

Rita; congratulations on the birds coming home! I love the Gray Catbird but they only visit this part of Florida from winter through March/April. Wish they would stay year round. We have the Carolina Wrens year round; I love their songs ... and it's so much fun watching the babies fledge the nest/house.
Love that rustic birdhouse ... wouldn't be at all surprised if the Wrens claim it soon!

I got a couple of pic's this afternoon.

Boat-tailed Grackles, male & female:


Dove and Mockingbird:

Great pictures! I haven't tried bird pictures again but do often just sit and watch the birds. I have Morning Doves and blackbirds every day.

I saw them. I saw both the House Wren and the Catbird while I was out and about working in the garden today. Saw lots of other birds too like the Song Sparrow, Robin, Cardinals (both male and female), Blue Jay and lots of Morning Doves and Grackles.

Thanks for that info. on the catbirds liking grape jelly & also the berries. Ah, now I know why I haven't seen them --- we were too late moving in here. If they are only winter visitors to Lin's & we are north of her by about 100 miles so they would only be winter visitors here. Well, I will be looking for them this winter then.

Speaking of birds loving berries ---- I saw a mocker hanging around my blueberries today & suspected he was up to something. Sure 'nuff; I went to check them just now & there had been 2 honking big berries I checked yesterday that weren't quite ripe & I figured today was the day. Yep, the day the mocker got to them before I did. lesson learned. I really don't mind sharing with the birds but I hate them getting my first two! Drat.

Yes, they love blueberry. Never mind shareing, the birds will eat them all. Net them or plant at least 20 shrubs!

In this case..... it's not so bad..... blueberries are my least favorite fruit. Of course, I have never had any domesticated, hybrid blueberries fresh off the bush before --- that might just change my outlook on them.

I never liked blueberries bought in the store. But fresh off the backyard shrubs, oh yumm, yumm, yummy! I had the same problem and just kept planting blueberries till I had about 40 of them and now plenty for me and the backyard birds.

That's one way to do it!

I wish the Catbirds would stay around longer than they do but I always look forward to late winter/early spring when they are here! At our old house, our backyard neighbor of many years has Loquat trees planted all along the fence line; the Gray Catbirds love the fruit! I sometimes buy a trail mix that I share with the birds. I love mango but dislike apricots ... the birds like both. Catbirds also eat raisins and other berries as well as suet! These photo's are from 2011:

Send me the apricots --- I'll eat them!

Great photos Lin & you didn't even have your new camera then.

LOL Ann, you want Papaya too? That's something else I'm not fond of that the birds get. Yep, those Catbird pictures were taken two or three cameras ago.

We were sitting out on the back porch this evening and managed to get a couple of pictures. This is the first female Red-bellied Woodpecker I've seen in a few weeks; there have been lots of males around lately and this female showed up this evening. The Green Heron flew to some trees in a neighbors yard across from us and it's a very blurry photo. The Cardinals come late in the day and I really think it's because the more boisterous birds (Grackles, Blackbirds, Crows) are around from morning until early evening.

Red-bellied, female and ........................ blurry photo of a Green Heron:


Little Northern Cardinal posing for the camera. It sat on the fence for a long time and then flew down and perched on a branch of my ficus tree on the deck:

Looks like a baby cardinal growing up fast as they do. I love those green herons.

NO! Lin, you can feed the papaya to the birds. Please! I hate that stuff. Yuk! Bleck.

Lin, great photos, love that baby cardinal, so cute.

The 2 the mockingbirds got.


They got even larger after I took this photo on the 6th. But they weren't ready to come off the bush.

well, the mockingbirds thought they were ready!

Today I saw both Catbirds and they stick close to each other so I am thinking they are a pair. They seemed to be looking for nesting materials. Picking up twigs and dried grasses and looking at them, putting some back and keep looking. I am wondering if they will nest in the big boxwood that they often choose or find a new spot. To my way of thinking those big shrub roses right off the side of the garage would be a great spot. No preditor would be able to get thru the rose thorns to bother the nest and those shrubs are about 8 feet tall.

The House Wren I see all over the garden today. What a busy little guy! I only see one and I know from years past that the male always gets here first before the female and starts stuffing boxes with his array of sticks.