My mom loved wrens. Spotting a wren in the backyard was reason for a joyful "long-distance" phone call. In those days of diapering baby boys I couldn't always properly appreciate Fritzi's birdwatching thrills. Now, ten years after her death, I want to pick up the phone and call Fritzi whenever I see a busy wren, or hear its scolding sound.
How to describe a
wren scold? Did you ever have a spinster junior high English teacher on the verge of retirement who had beady black eyes, very high expectations, and a shortage of patience? A woman in old-fashioned black shoes with a bit of a mustache hopping around the underbrush parsing sentences? A tiny bird/woman/teacher who made the first hour of each school day a living hell, but somehow made
The Scarlet Letter,
The Odyssey, and
The Old Man and the Sea books you would reread over the decades.
Carolina wrens are in constant motion. Usually in the underbrush, when they hop on a fallen log in a shaft of sunlight they taunt the photographer. My best Oak Point wren photo isn't great, but it was a personal victory!
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| March 7, 2013 Caddo Trail |
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| Dec. 24, 2014 Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden |
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| Looking contemplative |
I give a wren more IQ credit than a creature weighing 0.8 oz. probably merits. Still, the little birds very effectively communicate warnings and displeasure. When a black cat came stalking through the garden, you KNEW the wrens were pissed off! Good grief! They had to get off the ground and go sit on the tall fence during the threat. And their English teacher made them read
The Red Pony!
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| Hey you, get off of my cloud! |
1 comment:
These are great shots. They really are hard difficult to photograph but you got some nice captures. I had some friends come to visit one spring and after their first night I asked if they had a good sleep. They were from the country and I worried the urban traffic noises might have kept them up. I was horrified to discover they said they had trouble sleeping in. "The traffic?" I asked feeling a bit concerned. "No! No! The birds! They are so LOUD here." hahahaha. Who knew such tiny creatures could sing so loudly! Which is just fine by me btw. I love their songs.
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