Saturday, August 25, 2012

Our Busiest Residents

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At various times of the year new birds appear in our yards. So at present we have several Ruby-throated Hummingbirds drinking from and arguing over our nectar feeders. In a few months our regular winter birds will start arriving: These include Orange-crowned Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and American Goldfinches. However, for most of the year our feeders belong to our resident birds: White-winged Doves, House Sparrows, House Finches, Carolina Chickadees, Northen Mockingbirds, Northern Cardinals and a few others.

Among our residents there are none that give us more pleasure than our Carolina Wrens. Not only can we rely on seeing them most days of the year but also we can count on them being fun to watch. Whereas most other birds fly to the feeders, eat and then leave, our Wrens like to explore our yards. They hop along the fences, they forage in plant containers, they check out our hanging baskets, they fuss around on the ground. They seem to have boundless curiosity and limitless energy.

Two Carolina Wrens were busy outside our living-room window when I got back from work yesterday.

One was standing on the fence and trying to watch our yard and our neighbor's yard at the same time.






This one noticed whenever my camera clicked.


Another was drying off on the fence after visiting our birdbath.




Once this one had dried off, it decided it was time for a snack. So it perched on a pine cone that we had smeared with peanut butter and hung up outside our window.



It would grab a chunk of peanut butter and fly to the fence, where it would drop the chunk.


Then it would set about the often messy but always satisying business of eating the peanut butter.


There's rarely a dull moment when Carolina Wrens are in our yards!
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