THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408160140
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
I thought I knew about all the bravery mockingbirds could muster from my walks along the feeder road with Sally, the dog.
This summer a pair of mockingbirds has nested in a live oak in the feeder road median on just about every block. One particularly feisty mocker worked hard to keep the whole block under surveillance to protect home and hearth. From the roof of the tallest house, it fussed at all passers-by with a grating call that said, ``Don't mess with me.''
Whenever Sally and I walked through its territory, well defined, it seemed, by the stop signs at either end of the block, the mockingbird was at the ready. It would dive bomb the dog on its back - not once, not twice, but several times.
Sally never knew what hit her. She twitched, she darted her eyes back and forth and she jerked her head around, but the bird was too quick for detection. After ushering us to the end of the block, the fearless guardian would head back to its rooftop lookout, ready for the next intrusion upon its domain.
ANDY FINE CALLED WITH A MOCKINGBIRD STORY TO TOP THAT, HOWEVER. The other day he was riding his bicycle along Oceanfront Avenue near 47th Street when he heard a big commotion.
``I heard this noise and saw this confused carrying-on,'' Fine said. ``A hawk had this mockingbird in its talons on the ground and the bird was still fighting.''
Five or six other mockingbirds had come to the rescue, he said. They flew into the hawk, over and over again, and with such ferocity that the hawk finally gave up and flew off. Although Fine said he doesn't see how the mockingbird in the hawk's grip could have survived, the bird was not there on the ground after the fray.
``I was flabbergasted and I had to roll the tape back in my mind to see what I had seen,'' he said. ``Just about the time you think you know what Mother Nature can do, along comes something else.''
A TINY CREATURE HAS BEEN VISITING Fannie and Sam Molello just about every evening this summer. At first they weren't sure whether it was a bird or beast.
At dusk they would see the creature, like Jack Horner, facing into a corner of their front porch under the roof. By the light of day, the animal would be gone.
``It is such a funny little tiny roost,'' Fannie Molello said, ``where the brick and wood molding meet right under the roof. The brick ledge is no more than one-half inch wide.''
They couldn't see the animal very well in the dusky light, but a photograph taken with a flash camera revealed a distinct bird tail and a brown body, all fluffed up as if the bird were cold.
The speculation as to what species it was continued among the Molellos and their friends however, because the bird was so used to folks coming and going through the front door that it never flew away or revealed itself.
Then one night last week, the bird just turned its head and looked at the Molellos as they were saying good night to friends.
``It was a wren!'' Molello said. ``I saw the little stripe on its head and I knew.''
THE PHOTO OF A PIGEON ON THE HOOD OF A CAR with last week's column brought back fond memories for Jo and Bob Rush and daughter Barbara. The photo was from the newspaper's files, because try as I might, after writing about the proliferation of pigeons in Virginia Beach, I couldn't find a single pigeon to take a photo of.
Turns out the photo, taken in 1983, was of ``Bird,'' a Rush family pet. It was part of a Lawrence Maddry column about Bird and how he rode around on the family car holding on to the windshield wipers.
``He looked like he owned the world,'' said Jo Rush. ``He'd ride to school with my daughter. He'd walk around on the hood of the car for awhile and if she didn't come out, he'd fly on home.''
Bird once found his way back to their Carolanne Farm home from Northampton Boulevard and once, all the way from a horse farm in Chesapeake, Rush said.
Bird, who was a hand-raised orphan, lived in a roost outside the Rush home for nine years. The bird met his demise about three years ago. The Rushes saw his feathers scattered about but never knew what happened. They still talk about his feats, however.
``He was very smart,'' Rush said. ``He really was an amazing Bird.''
Another reader also told me about a wild pigeon that had taken up with his family. The bird had the same penchant for riding on the hood of the car. He would catch a ride down to the shopping center or wherever and then when the mood struck, fly back home again on his own.
I agree with Rush. Stories like these are amazing. It's time we started a society to restore the pigeon's reputation. These birds are too smart to be so maligned.
P.S. GO ON A NATURE WALK from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The walk will be led by refuge volunteer and naturalist Vickie Shufer. Call 721-2412 for reservations.
AN AFTERNOON OF EDUCATION AND ACTIVITIES from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at Mount Trashmore will celebrate companion animals. Sponsored by Tidewater Humane Inc., In Celebration and Remembrance will feature displays by local animal shelters and animal control bureaus along with K-9 demonstrations, McGruff the Crime dog, Wappadoodle Puppets and other activities.
FLAX TO LINEN, a continuous demonstration of the transformation of the flax plant into linen cloth, will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. today at historic Francis Land House. The program is included in admission to the house. Call 340-1732.
The 1994-95 VIRGINIA WILDLIFE CALENDAR, which runs on a school year, is available for $6.50 from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, P.O Box 11104, Richmond, Va. 23230-1104. Color photographs of Virginia's flora and fauna are on every page. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
by CNB