![\"northern](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/northern-mockingbird-5880-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThis “flight display” is one of three courtship displays known to Northern Mockingbirds.<\/p>\n
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\u00a01\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I photographed this one yesterday morning on Antelope Island. The display, performed by males,\u00a0usually begins with the bird singing high on a perch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Then he jumps 6 to 8 ft\u00a0almost straight up above the perch\u00a0as he\u00a0flaps his wings a time or two. During the process\u00a0his white wing patches are conspicuously displayed and he sings almost continuously although I caught the beak closed in this shot. Then with his wings out he parachutes almost straight down onto the same or a nearby perch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This time I lost focus on him as he parachuted down but reacquired it just as he landed again on the same perch.<\/p>\n I’ve been trying to photograph this behavior all spring without much luck and I think I may<\/em> know part of the reason why. This display is rarely if ever performed when all or most of the males in a population are on a breeding territory they’ve used in previous years. But when new males are residing on some of the territories\u00a0the display is common.<\/p>\n Perhaps most of the males on the northern part of the island\u00a0this year are old-timers on territories they’ve used before. Either way there’s no question that I’m seeing the behavior\u00a0less often than I did last spring and early summer.<\/p>\n Northern Mockingbirds were once thought to be headed for extinction due to the caged-bird trade in the 1700s and 1800s but since that time they have largely recovered. They’re very common in some parts of North America but much less so in my area, although I’m seeing more of them than I used to.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Note – A word of warning to those planning a trip to Antelope Island in the near future. Most years the biting gnats are a much bigger nuisance than mosquitos but this year seems to be an anomaly. For the last week or so the skeeters have been absolutely horrific! – worse by far than I’ve ever seen them on the island. We’re now paying the price for our unusually wet spring. <\/em><\/p>\n![\"northern](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/northern-mockingbird-5891-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"northern](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/northern-mockingbird-5895-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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