Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Dancing for your dinner!

I caught this little Northern Mockingbird foraging among the grasses and small plants while we were at a nearby field. He put on quite a show of flapping his wings and jumping up and down creating movement to make all those yummy insects run or fly. He was quite the aggressive feeder.

Look at that face! He is doing some serious dancing here. He is also doing some serious pest control as he will consume large quantities of beetles, ants, wasps and grasshoppers. He does vary his diet with a variety of berries and other fruit..but if you get a chance to watch him dance for his dinner..it is quite entertaining!

20 comments:

George said...

These are wonderful pictures. I've never observed a Northern Mockingbird foraging in real life, but now I really would like to. Thanks for catching this guy in action.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Tina, these are GREAT! I just love photos of birds doing bird life. Awesome!

Craig Glenn said...

Nice Tina! My birds do not dance for me but they sure get upset and want to know where their seed is. Great series and captures.

Craig

Betsy Banks Adams said...

That mocker was really dancing for the camera, Tina. You got some gorgeous pictures of him... Love the one where he is staring at you...

Hugs,
Betsy

FAB said...

Very interesting behaviour that you captured. Our Blackbirds & Thrushes can often be seen "leaf turning" but I've never seen any dance.

Janice K said...

What interesting behavior. I thought he really blended into colors of the field where he was "dancing."

Gail said...

It is time to admit it...you are invisible, right? That can be the only way to get such great shots.

Vickie said...

Great images of a mockingbird creating his magic for dinner. Love seeing them do this. And what fun that you could capture it.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Great shots showing the action well.I can imagine this was interesting to watch.
Blessings,Ruth

Kelly said...

Wow! Great observation...I love seeing photos of bird behavior.

Chris said...

These are wonderful pictures Tina. I did not know they could dance for food ;-) i thought the only dance for bird aimed to get a mate...

Peggy said...

Fantastic find! I would love to see that dance! Excellent captures!

jalynn01 said...

Great Captures! I have seen these lovely birds dance to attract a mate not to rustle up some grub. How cool! They are amazing birds. I like them alot. Thanks for the info.

Shelley said...

These are fabulous! Makes me laugh seeing him do his little dance!!

Kcalpesh said...

Awesome shots! Had never seen this bird before... seen it first time... that too... in dancing poses... thanks to you... :-)

NCmountainwoman said...

Great photographs of the mockingbird doing what mockingbirds do! I loved them.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Tina: How very cool, what a neat capture.

Neal said...

Great shots Tina. Sorry I haven't got to comment too often since I've been really busy this summer.

Dave's Bird Watching Blog said...

I think he's rethinking his career choice...he always wanted to be a symphony conductor!

Dawn Fine said...

Tina..
Great shots! I have never seen this happen..will be on the lookout!

would like to hear your thoughts..