Saturday, February 4, 2012

Carolina Wrens Do the Craziest Things

I was settling in on a dark and drizzly afternoon to watch the North Carolina - Maryland basketball game when a movement outside the window caught my eye. A Carolina wren hopped up from the back of a rocking chair on the porch and took shelter on top of the weight of this wind chime. It's still there, half an hour and several slightly blurred photos later. 


Carolina wrens always make me smile. They're the loudest, most curious, cheerful and fearless of small birds. Any open door or new object in the yard must be investigated. One briefly flew into the house the other day when we had the door open. Do you see the little beak peeking down? Words cannot express the pleasure this little bird gave me on a day of too many tasks and errands.

9 comments :

Beth at PlantPostings said...

What a cutie! Looks like he found a comfortable spot. Isn't it neat how a fun encounter like that can just make your day? It must have been interesting to have a bird in the house.

NHGarden said...

Sheila, We saw a Carolina Wren here in December! Thank you so much for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award :)

Sheila said...

Beth, Yes, it did make my day.... Fortunately, the wren only stayed in the house for a minute. It sat on a table, then flew out.

Chris, I wonder if Carolina wrens are moving farther north? The Maine island that I visit reported Carolina wrens nesting there for the first time last year.

Aimee@RedGardenClogs said...

Hahahaha!!! What a delightful thing to have seen - glad you caught it, and thanks for sharing with us!

Donna@Gardens Eye View said...

Sheila how cute...my wrens can be bullies when it is nesting time...they chase all the birds out of the yard and the nesting boxes...

Stacy said...

Some years in Vermont if we'd had a (comparatively) mild winter I'd see Carolina wrens the following summer. One year a pair nested in one of my pots of tuberous begonias--watering them (the begonias) was a bit of a challenge... Yours was certainly in full entertainer mode!

Indie said...

Aw, so cute! I love our little wrens always hopping about checking things out!

Sheila Read said...

Aimee, Carolina wrens never fail to delight me. I hung a bird feeder on a tree outside my window at work last week. For several days, I saw no bird activity and was disappointed. Guess who was the first bird to find the feeder? A Carolina wren.

Donna, the wrens have been checking out the bluebird box, but I'm confident the bluebirds will continue to defend their box.

Stacy, it is a moral dilemma of sorts when birds are nesting in a hanging plant. I don't want to surprise the mother sitting on eggs or water tiny fledglings. I usually end up with a sort of compromise - underwatering the plant and watering only the edges around the nest. But I love it that birds like nesting so close to the house.

Indie, the wrens are definitely hoppers. They hop so much that it's difficult to get photos of them!

Ginny said...

I adore Carolina wrens - they are so much fun to watch and don't seem to be shy at all!