I hope this letter finds you well. I should think so, judging by your singing outside my window at seven minutes 'til five this morning.
May I complement you on the quality of your mimicry? Had I not know that my alarm was not due to go off for another seven minutes, I would have sworn you were it. Mrs Magill was wondering why I had set it early while the kids were off at camp and we could sleep in a bit. Alas, no. It was you.
I sincerely hope your mockingbird lady friends and rivals are suitably impressed by your skills.
This time of year the birds around here start peeping and singing by 4:00 am. If I have the windows open, my flock hears them and thinks “Oh! It’s morning time! Peep! Peep! Peep!”
It’s the only time of day when I don’t think they’re very cute at all…
We cut down the tree* next to our bedroom window that our early bird used to perch in to hold concerts. I hadn’t even thought about it until this very moment, but I have been getting much better sleep between 4 and 6 than I was this time last year.
We were cutting down some trees anyway, it wasn’t out of spite.
We had a couple nest on our back patio. Two eggs hatched then fledged. Then we had THREE of those loud fuckers in our yard every day, all day, and night till 1am and then again at 4am. I think they worked in shifts.
Thankfully my cat graciously murdered one and the other two got the hint and went elsewhere.
We cannot hear the outside birds singing at sunrise, as they’re drowned out by Rocco, our African Grey, wolf-whistling and saying weird things like, “Do you want a grape?”.
My grandparents had a parakeet that was a big talker. After my grandpa died (he was a heavy smoker who died of lung cancer), the bird would often do an exact mimic of the phlegmy cough sound he used to make. It was very creepy.
The Mockingbirds in my yard are here to wake up the obnoxious rooster. Even the hens hate him. One day he’s gonna be a pan of chicken and dumplings.
(The rooster, not the mockingbird, it’s a sin or something to kill and eat one)
