{"id":131286,"date":"2024-07-27T03:23:18","date_gmt":"2024-07-27T08:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=131286"},"modified":"2025-08-10T07:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T12:02:09","slug":"photographing-a-young-northern-mockingbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/27\/photographing-a-young-northern-mockingbird\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographing A Young Northern Mockingbird"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was delighted yesterday when I had the chance to photograph a young Northern Mockingbird that landed in a nearby oak tree. Naturally, I took photos.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-131281 size-full\" title=\"Young Northern Mockingbird in Arkansas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421.jpg\" alt=\"Young Northern Mockingbird in Arkansas, Sebastian County\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Young Northern Mockingbird in Arkansas \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/640, ISO 1600, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The immature mockingbird left the oak tree, flew to the ground, and stayed there long enough for me to take about six images. I do wish the young mockingbird had stayed longer and been closer, but I am still thrilled to have seen the young bird.<\/p>\n<p>The young Northern Mockingbird&#8217;s big, dark eyes drew my attention. I thought it had such a sweet look on its face, maybe even an innocent one. It had a cute appeal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-131280 size-full\" title=\"Fierce looking adult Northern Mockingbird\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429.jpg\" alt=\"Fierce looking adult Northern Mockingbird, Sebastian County, Arkansas\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-attitude-mia-mcpherson-4429.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Fierce looking adult Northern Mockingbird \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 3200, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Grown-up Northern Mockingbirds? I&#8217;d never call them cute or sweet. They look fierce to me, really fierce at times. Especially when they are protecting their nests or chicks.<\/p>\n<p>They will dive-bomb dogs, cats, hawks, and people who get too near them. Some mail carriers in Florida had to take to wearing hard hats to protect themselves from mockingbird attacks. The probably happens in other states too.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve also seen mockingbirds get aggressive with other birds. So yes, I&#8217;d call them fierce.<\/p>\n<p>One day, the young <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Northern_mockingbird\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Northern Mockingbird<\/span><\/a> I photographed yesterday will look as fierce as the adult in my photo above. They will also be fiercely protective of their nest and young.<\/p>\n<p>For now, though, at this stage of their life, they do look sweet, and this young mockingbird was only thinking of where its next meal was coming from. The adults are still feeding this immature bird, but it is also foraging on its own.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/northern-mockingbird-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Northern Mockingbird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was delighted yesterday when I had the chance to photograph a young Northern Mockingbird that landed in a nearby oak tree. Naturally, I took photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13950,27,818,13951],"tags":[4004,11071,13931,5943,4067,821,820,6814,5719,4192,4104,165,8018,11722,13966,4193],"class_list":["post-131286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-avian","category-northern-mockingbird","category-sebastian-county","tag-adult","tag-fierce","tag-garden","tag-ground","tag-immature","tag-mimids-2","tag-mimus-polyglottos","tag-mockingbird","tag-mockingbirds","tag-northern-mockingbird","tag-perched","tag-spring","tag-urban","tag-vine","tag-yard","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/northern-mockingbird-immature-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6421.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-y9w","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":150216,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/07\/10\/northern-mockingbird-chick-with-a-big-attitude\/","url_meta":{"origin":131286,"position":0},"title":"Northern Mockingbird Chick With A Big Attitude","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing a short tale this morning of a Northern Mockingbird chick with lifted wings and a big attitude. I photographed her or him on the 4th of July.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Mockingbird chick with lifted wings and a big attitude, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/northern-mockingbird-chick-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1565.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/northern-mockingbird-chick-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1565.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/northern-mockingbird-chick-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1565.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/northern-mockingbird-chick-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-1565.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":134944,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/24\/hatch-year-northern-mockingbird-in-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":131286,"position":1},"title":"Hatch Year Northern Mockingbird In Fall","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When this hatch year Northern Mockingbird flew into the birdbath two days ago, I was ready to photograph her or him as soon as they landed on it.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hatch year Northern Mockingbird at a birdbath, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-3772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-3772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-3772.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-3772.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129650,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/21\/northern-mockingbird-fledgling-photos-from-oklahoma\/","url_meta":{"origin":131286,"position":2},"title":"Northern Mockingbird Fledgling Photos From Oklahoma","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago, I noticed that some Northern Mockingbird chicks had fledged during the day. Later that evening, the plot to the east was mowed up to the fence.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Northern Mockingbird in Oklahoma, Marshall County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/northern-mockingbird-chick-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-4933.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/northern-mockingbird-chick-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-4933.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/northern-mockingbird-chick-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-4933.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/northern-mockingbird-chick-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-4933.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135986,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/26\/hatch-year-northern-mockingbird-two-very-different-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":131286,"position":3},"title":"Hatch Year Northern Mockingbird &#8211; Two Very Different Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I\u2019m sharing two hatch year Northern Mockingbird photos taken just forty-one minutes apart yesterday, each showing off a very different look and vibe.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hatch year Northern Mockingbird perched on shed antlers, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-2819.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-2819.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-2819.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/northern-mockingbird-hatch-year-mia-mcpherson-2819.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137188,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/01\/northern-mockingbird-on-suet-feeder-plus-a-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":131286,"position":4},"title":"Northern Mockingbird On Suet Feeder Plus A Video","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I'm sharing a simple Northern Mockingbird photo along with a video I took last month in Arkansas. I'm glad these birds are year-round residents here.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Mockingbird perched on a driftwood suet feeder, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/northern-mockingbird-november-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/northern-mockingbird-november-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/northern-mockingbird-november-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/northern-mockingbird-november-mia-mcpherson-8383.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127718,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/20\/spring-northern-mockingbird-photos-from-arkansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":131286,"position":5},"title":"Spring Northern Mockingbird Photos From Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"At my friend Steve Creek's home, I listen to a Northern Mockingbird sing around the clock. The mockingbird sings practically all the time, day and night.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Mockingbird at a birdbath, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/northern-mockingbird-arkansas-spring-mia-mcpherson-5469.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/northern-mockingbird-arkansas-spring-mia-mcpherson-5469.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/northern-mockingbird-arkansas-spring-mia-mcpherson-5469.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/northern-mockingbird-arkansas-spring-mia-mcpherson-5469.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}