The Death Of A Mockingbird.

I went to Mexico Beach last weekend. I needed to do a long ride on the new bike, it was nice.  We caught fish, we had fun and I enjoyed the sunshine, sand and salt air.

I was sitting in my friend Danny’s backyard, he was at work, so was his wife Angel.  I was petting the dog Scooter and watching a Mockingbird.

Todays post is about the Mockingbird, let’s call him George.

George is locked in mortal combat with another Mockingbird. Every time George makes a move his opponent counters exactly, every time George presses the attack and pecks, his opponent counters him and their beaks or feet meet exactly at the same point.  George has met his match, his opponent is every bit as smart, just as agile and just as strong, and apparently has just as much determination to rid Danny’s back yard of George as George has to rid Dannys backyard of him.

He is making quite the ruckus, ruffling his feathers and making a show of spreading his wings and standing with his head as high as possible. Again he goes on the attack, feathers explode and the counter attack leaves him dazed. George is clearly dazed and wounded.  I decided that enough was enough and I slowly approached George  and placed my do rag over his head.

Then I gently scooped him up and took him away from the mirror around to the front yard. He struggled to get away, but it was half hearted. George was sapped of energy and dazed from repeated head jolts as his beak met that of his mortal enemy in the mirror.

I put him in large Azalea bush and back away as he righted himself and sat there for a minute before flying across the street to the vacant lot covered in brush, and presumably tasty insects.

I returned to the house and made some iced tea wondering how he could be so dumb that he would fight his opponent even though the only way to kill him is to sacrifice himself in the process.

It was in this very moment that I heard George, again cursing his opponent in the back yard. George was back on the attack and he had no intention of losing.

Birds and humans are , apparently, not that different.