My sighting happened last November 26 at Whistling Straits Golf Course, just north of Sheboygan, where Lynn and I had gone for lunch. The day was cold and windy, not the weather or climate or even the state of the union- far north of their usual haunts- in which one would expect to see a MOCKINGBIRD. But there in a tree just outside the restaurant, facing into a cold wind off Lake Michigan, perched this plucky bird. Who knows why it was here or whether it was planning to bravely face a Wisconsin winter, or, better, get the hell south pronto.
Mockingbirds are amazingly tough, hardy, resourceful birds. I watched a single mockingbird cow 50 starlings into submission at a bird feeder in Virginia. After being routed, the starlings perched around in trees at respectful distances until mockingbird had had its fill. But surviving a Wisconsin winter takes different skills than scaring starlings and I wonder if this bird has made it through this far?
R T WALLEN
R T WALLEN