05.10.2020 A new Mom - the house wren

Yes, my house wren nesting in the Christmas wreath on my front door has a little one. The egg must have hatched a day or so ago. We have not been using the doors near her but I do look out the window to see if she is on her nest.

She has been there most of the time but really does not seem afraid of the dogs. However, she does fly away when I come out of the door. We had to use the door because Chewy delivered the dog food and I saw this little one raising its head. Even the delivery man enjoyed seeing this precious little one, but most likely the momma house wren was not impressed with us. May be if lucky, I can see this one fledge. But no more pictures so we do not disturb them.




Look at those big eyes.



It has been fun watching the feeders. I have added another one so I can see it from the kitchen door. Saw a yellow bellied woodpecker and a downy woodpecker at the suet feeder this morning. We also have cardinals nesting around the house and I am sure the hummingbird has a tiny little nest nearby. She was perched atop a lilac bush for about ten minutes. It was nice to see her back!

So I am managing to keep busy with some telehealth work, and tending to the gardens, birds and my boys, of course!



Please take good care of yourselves. My very best wishes for your good health.

05.03.2020 My resident house wren

The house wren is a special bird for me. It is the first bird where I purposefully tried to identify the bird by its song. Yes, we did know the song of the cardinal and robin, but this was different. It was a real attempt to learn new birds by song. It was not easy!

A couple of years ago I saw a nesting box for wrens so I took the "if you build it they will come" approach - and it worked. I had a wren around the yard and something nesting in the box - just not the wren. 

But this year the wren was back. And she built a nest, a crooked nest at that, in my Christmas wreath. Yes, I was going to take it down when Spring came, but then it was cold so I left it up. I noticed some pieces of the lily leaves from last year on the porch and as I was cleaning up the dead plants, I saw it. A nest. First I thought maybe it was a house finch - they have nested on my front door in the past. But then I saw her - a beautiful little wren. She built her nest in my wreath on the front door. I was surprised as they are very shy and I do have three dogs that run past that door many times a day, not to mention just lounging on the porch. Apparently they do not bother her.

I am so looking forward to seeing if there are eggs and then watching to see when they hatch. However, her nest is just a little bit high for me to see inside and I now want to give her some peace and quiet so I do not use that door. I have also re-routed the dogs so they do not startle her too often.

This is her crooked little nest in the Christmas wreath.




Every time I approach the door to go outside she flies off her nest. We have one at right angles from this door that leads from the atrium that we use rather than the front door even without a nest.

An empty nest and no chirping sounds. So no little ones at this point.




I was determined to get a picture of her on the nest but every time I was by the door off she flew. And when I had a camera she was even more skittish.  So after many attempts and much patience, I got some of her through the glass door but you can still tell it is a wren. She is a pretty little bird, peering out from her nest.




Having a little more light made a big difference. This was taken with the morning light shining towards the door - it is always in shadow. But there she is, probably trying to decide to stay of fly. I got one picture and that was it.



And then she flew. Lucky shot! We are all staying away from the door so she can keep her eggs warm. I am guessing there are eggs as she spends a lot of time now on the nest. She very much is a welcome visitor to my home!




The gardens are doing very well. A lot of rain this past week and they are growing tall. Here are a few pictures of several flowers and plants. I hope you enjoy them.

Periwinkles.


Quince.







Johnny jump-ups.


Azaleas.






Daffodil. Not as many as I had hoped for this year. Guess you know what I will need to do in the Fall!



Rhododendron in bud.


Every garden has a dandelion or two!


There used to be two huge bleeding heart plants on either side of hte waklway. Not I have only this one little one.



Fionnegan and Gunnarr are two happy dogs and always keeping an eye on me! They are good and do stay behind the gate whenever I need to go back and forth.



Shorty likes to sit in the driveway and keep an eye on everyone and everything. He always knows where I am and keeps an eye on me as I work or take pictures.



Fionnegan.


Gunnarr - still camera shy.


The end. Something good to sniff along the fence.




I do hope you all are well during these challenging days. But we will get through them.
Please stay well.

06/18/17 Sunday morning bliss

First, a very Happy Father's Day to all Dad's out there.

Sunday morning is a special time for us. After I come home from Church, weather permitting, we go outside to just enjoy the fresh air. The boys like to keep an eye on the neighbors and chase squirrels and I like to put my feet up, have a cup of tea, and read a book or do a little crocheting. And always watching the birds and checking out my gardens.

Today while reading I saw a little house wren perch on the fence by me. The house wren is a special bird to me. When I was in college and studying ornithology, the first bird on the test on the field trip was a singing house wren. I think the professor was a bit frustrated by me, but it took all day for me to learn the call. The last question of the quiz was - yes - what bird is calling? You would have to be totally clueless not to answer "house wren"! And there she was, singing her little heart out right next to me.  I watched her fly to nearby shrubs and then to the huge bush on the side of the house. She hopped down the branched and entered - her birdhouse! I had forgotten all about it. I had hung a wren bird house in the bush (really bought it to hide the control box of the invisible fence but it was too small for the receiver). I thought only the chickadees were using it to crack the sunflower seeds, but no. She has a little nest. How cool is that!

You cannot see her, and I am not going to disturb her, but a momma house wren and her brood are in the bird box.

It was a beautiful morning. After the dogs chase everything, they all settle down in close proximity. Such good companions!

Our morning paradise. Not many mornings can I spend time outside like this, so we like to take every possible chance to enjoy the gardens and nature.

My sweet Gunnarr. He looks at me with such big smiles and adoration. When I talk to him he hangs on my every word. What a love.

Fionnegan is also sweet and loving and very much ornery. He had carried this bone around with him all morning, making sure Shorty saw it, then grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring at him.  Shorty is underneath and very aware of the bone. Fionn is very confident in his skills and probably figures he can outrun or outlast Shorty - or at least jump on Momma's lap!




Shorty has just simply blended into the pet family. He is one of the boys, they go just about everywhere together and at least in site of each other. He plays rough and tumbles with Fionn and Gunnarr and really looks to be very, very happy. Good boys. Here he is all tuckered out from running around the yard.




A few flowers from the garden.