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"There's that mockingbird out there," Wayne tells Stella, as smiles flicker across their faces.

In 52 weekly entries, she sings the praises of clever crows and is heartened by the sight of blue jays and mockingbirds enjoying the heated birdbath she installed for them.

Everett started Wild Wings with his late wife Judy in 1978 after a neighbor had inadvertently tossed a nest containing three baby mockingbirds into a barrel along with a load of lawn trimmings.

As a result, these areas have less bird biodiversity and larger populations of synanthropic birds — species adapted to dense urban environments such as house finches and sparrows, European starlings, common pigeons and northern mockingbirds.

“This started as a drawing and became a collage which I’ve just completed. It’s a mockingbird, and some of the pieces of paper are piano sheet music.”