Northern Mockingbird immature

This Northern Mockingbird that was one of several at Cove Island Park in CT on my second visit to the Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Mockingbirds were harassing the FTFL quite a lot that day - I've had a persistent problem with winter-territorial mockingbirds in my back yard as they can be quite belligerent. This individual was a little tamer and often this is seen with immature birds. Correspondingly the somewhat sharper tail feather profile suggests first winter age, as does the gray iris. Pyle's ID book warns that eye color is not definitive and that some adults can show green or even gray, but in this case it's nicely consistent with the tail profile. This bird is also a little browner than most around the throat and shows quite a bit of yellow in the gape.

Juvenile Northern Mockingbird

You would think that since Northern Mockingbird is a widely dispersed common species that I'd have more photos of it. But apparently not. On a quiet day at Six Mile Run this was one of the few cooperative birds, and responded to my "spishing" by popping up and seeing what the hell was making that noise. I try not to lure young birds - in particular there was a quite recent Field Sparrow fledgling that I came across just after taking the picture above. I walked away from it rather than pursuing a picture because it was so very young (very short tail, weak flight) and I didn't want to stress it. Similarly the male Blue Grosbeak that I saw seemed somewhat agitated with frequent contact calling so I didn't approach it. That sort of behavior often reflects a predator response in the presence of young birds. This is how I act all the time - the birds are more important than my pictures of them - but all the more important that morning because a fast-moving adult female Cooper's Hawk was hunting the same area. Juveniles and first winter birds are often a little tamer anyway, so I prefer to wait for them to provide the opportunities rather than push them.