Comments on: Farewell Baby Wrens

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:37:39 +0000

Christine,

We to have wrens just starting their second year of nesting in a huge metal rooster given to us by a friend. The rooster looks and is as heavy as a trojan horse standing four feet tall. They love it in there because no other bird or animal can get to them or get in the opening. We do not move the rooster ever, so they know were it is every year. It’s great seeing the babies come out and watch the mother and father teach them right in front of us on the porch, before they are off. We think it might be the original parents or this time the babies. Keep up the good work. We are waiting and looking forwards to the next family to arrive.

-Chris & Holly

By: Caralu

Caralu — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:02:07 +0000

I once had a nesting in the eaves of my front porch, and experienced the same sense of stewardship and delight – I felt truly honored that the birds in question chose MY porch to raise their babes…it was a joyful day when they took their first flight, and a little sad, too….would you call it poignant? Thanks for sharing the experience and for posting the footage.

By: tre

tre — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:00:28 +0000

you write so often about being present in the moment.
i learned to do this a while ago. your writings are the reminder…your video the evidence of the treasure in each moment. i’m so gently persuaded to think of how the mother bird’s ability to ‘let go’ weighs in here much too…she’s not clinging for them to hang out for a little while…in fact wants them, encourages them to be what they’re here to be: wrens…so for me the message therein: how to be that innocent explorer and press on as I must….how to be all that I am…nudged on by that presence of Mother Love that is my constant advocate and encourager…
(tickled you mentioned it was a movie option on your cam….have been thinking ‘camera or video cam?” maybe there is a way to do both.
you’re nudgin me too to see the impact of visuals and sound w/ the bloggin….almost wanna aim to do all 3 each time! went to wildflower music fest in richardson last sat…heard ‘america’ and ‘the guess who’ and i thought “hmm..wonder if these dudes blog about their gigs?” thank you! for this entry. a real gift…..hugs and smiles, tre

By: Christine Kane

Christine Kane — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:14:46 +0000

Thanks all y’all (that’s how we say it in North Carolina!) You’re WAY too kind about my filming talents – but hey, thanks! I miss these little tykes now. But the wreath has come down (I Googled it, and it turns out that only occasionally do wrens return to the same nest.) Just to remind you, Ken Bonfield’s music is on iTunes. Get the album “Mystic Morning” if you liked this tune. It’s great!

By: Irene

Irene — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:28:25 +0000

Christine,
Thank you! It is a beautiful gift to share with us. It was great to listen to beautiful music as well.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:47:08 +0000

Hi Christine,

That was just precious. And the music really set the mood; I was getting a little misty-eyed watching the babies leave. My favorite was the baby asking for more food before heading out.

We’ve been enjoying hummingbirds, goldfinches, red-breasted grosbeaks, along with blue jays, red winged blackbirds, and numerous woodpeckers. This weekend our neighborhood owl, Shakespeare, announced his return. (Yes, we give names to some of the locals.)

Here is to the wonders of nature!

-Amy

By: Kathy

Kathy — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:44:28 +0000

Christine – how cute was that?! You have another career budding in my opinion!! We love our birds in Columbia County. David is the caretaker. For a couple of years running, we had a little nest up in a sagging soffit before our renovations. It was amazing to watch mom and dad go in and out to feed and protect. We loved listening to their peeps and cheeps! For little guys, they were awfully hungry!! We didn’t have as good a view as you did though so we missed their momentous exit day. Thanks for sharing yours!!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:36:44 +0000

nature is so truly amazing if we can slow down enough to observe it. I think birds are one of the sweetest animals, especially as babies. I saw an amazing segment last night on 60-Minutes about a whole rainforest in Indonesia full of unique birds.

By: jer

jer — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:55:11 +0000

you should totally submit this to cuteoverload.com

By: Doug C.

Doug C. — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:13:16 +0000

Hi Christine. Great blog. This reminds me of last summer when me and my folks were sitting out in their yard watching the construction guys across the road plow under all the trees for the new duplexes. This always makes my heart sink and I recall a remark of Thoreau’s, “”A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.”

So there we were sitting in the yard when all of a sudden we hear this loud ratcheting sound and out of nowhere comes this gorgeous white-neck Kingfisher. He landed on the tall pole the construction guy had put in the ground to mark the property line and just starts letting them have it. We were all excited because you rarely see Kingfishers and in fact none of us had ever seen one at all, although we knew they were around.

After yelling at the construction guys he dove straight down and disappeared below the bank on the other side of the road. He flew back out a moment later and took off over our heads toward the lake behind us. He returned a short time later with a large minnow in his mouth, perched on the pole for a bit (still yelling at the disruption), and then dove into the bank again.

We realized he had a nest right below the bank and we were beside ourselves with exhilaration. Rarely to see a Kingfisher, but to be witness to one feeding it’s young was truly a blessing. Alarmed that the construction would destroy him and his family we walked over across the road, flagged down the construction guys, and told them what was happening. They talked amongst themselves then one of the guys came forward and said they would halt any work around the sand bank until his young were out of the nest.

For the next three weeks we would sit in the yard and watch him fly back and forth and I would always smile, thinking how one small bird could stop progress in its tracks. Thoreau would have been proud.