The Wren Family, Temporary Residents

We have a family sharing our home with us this month.

The Carolina wrens moved in a few weeks ago, busily making a nest in this birdhouse that has hung on our porch for at least 10 years, probably longer. No bird ever used it until now.

The babies have hatched and Mama and Papa are busier every day hunting worms and other food for them.

I suppose the young will fly off while I am in England, so I will miss that excitement. Makes me kinda sad, really. We've enjoyed watching them so much.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

The Dark of December

Good morning! Every morning we are greeted with song from a Carolina wren whose home must be very near our bedroom window. As the light has retreated in these winter days, his wake-up call gets later and later--now it is 7:15. You could almost set a watch by him. After solstice, his song will come earlier and earlier, assuring that we sleepyheads will be awake at daybreak whenever it comes.

You can hear a lot of birds in the video above, most notably the woodpecker--sounds like the red-bellied to me. The video is not mine, but from Youtube--I am never camera-ready when our bird sings.

This morning he sang only one time, and he sounded cold, not his usual happy, chipper self. I hope he's all right. We have enjoyed his company for this past year.

One of my favorite poems is about a bird singing in December, and our wren reminds me of it.

I Heard a Bird Sing

by

Oliver Herford (1863–1935)

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,”

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Mama Wren

It's been a birdy time here on the porch as we watch two new families starting out. The wrens have already hatched their brood, while the summer tanagers are still waiting--although I think today might be the day for the tanagers to hatch. I base that on their behavior. The father bird has been in the area and has been very protective, running off any bird that comes near the nest tree, but has not bothered the female on her nest. According to my bird book, the male sometimes feeds the female while she is setting but not always. But they will feed her and be active around the nest on Hatch Day. So today the male is very much in evidence at the nest, so we shall see. I have not been taking photos of this activity as the nest is hard to see and photos would not come out well, I think, but I may try it later.

The Carolina wren's babies have hatched and she is busily feeding them. Maybe the male wren is too; I'm not sure I can tell the difference between them.

The wrens chose this gourd, hanging in the cherry tree by the deck, for their home.

A parent arrives and scopes out the area. Any movement, and the bird will fly off and scold from a distance.

And in they go...

and back out again, to find more grub, presumably.

These babies are very quiet. We literally never hear a peep out of them. I hope we will be around for the babies' maiden flight from the nest.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.