How To Attract Mockingbirds

Mockingbirds are my favorite bird. I enjoy watching the ongoing feud between my cat and the local mockingbirds. Anytime the cat walks across the west end of the yard, he can expect to have a mockingbird peck at his tail. In his turn, the cat seems to enjoy skulking around the mockingbirds, just to give them something to think about all day long. It's a battle of wills.

Attracting mockingbirds is something many bird lovers want to do. Besides their propensity to divebomb the local felines, mockingbirds are perhaps the most entertaining songbirds. They are able to mimic the sounds of many other birds, so listening to a mockingbird performance is a medley of outdoor sounds.

In fact, mockingbirds don't simply mock other birds. They can mimic the sound of people whistling and frogs croaking. They are also to simulate the sounds of sirens in the distance and nearby machinery.

Mockingbirds act as a natural pest controller in your backyard. Their long, sharp beaks are perfect for dispatching with them. So there are even practical reasons to attract mockingbirds into your view.

Here are a few ways to attract mockingbirds into your backyard.

Food

Finding the right food combination is important in attracting mockingbirds. You want the best food choices, because you don't want to attract other types of birds instead.

Mockingbirds like suet served from a suet feeder. They also enjoy raisins, fruits and seeds, particularly sunflower seeds. They also eat small pieces of bread.

Landscape

Mockingbirds also enjoy eating fruit and berries from trees. So when you plant trees in your yard, you might consider planting trees with the kind of food mockingbirds like. Recommended tree types include cherry, mulberry, elderberry, hackberry, craps apple and dogwood. Mockingbirds enjoy grapes, raspberries, blackberries and figs.

Mockingbirds also enjoy thick shrubs in a yard.

Water

Consider putting a birdbath in your yard. A basic birdbath is perfectly acceptable to a mockingbird. These birds need water to drink as much as they need food. So any pool of shallow water which is off the ground is to their liking.

As you might guess from the name, birds also clean themselves in a birdbath. If you really want to go all out, buy a birdbath with flowing water. Remember to clean the birdbath periodically and freshen the water.

Eliminate the Competition

Other animals enjoy eating the same foods which mockingbirds do. Squirrels are a primary culprit in stealing your bird's food. So if you want to make sure your mockingbird chooses your yard out of all those in the neighborhood, take measures to keep squirrels and other rival feeders out of the yard.