Sunday, August 7, 2011

The Wren Family

Underneath my deck, I have a little wren house (shaped like a mailbox). Every year since I put it up, the wrens have had a family there.
Since there's no way to look inside, I have no idea how many babies are squished in there, but I do know there are at least two.

And they're very noisy babies!
All day, every day, Mr & Mrs Wren spend every waking hour searching my backyard for bugs to feed these noisy babies. Sometimes they find bugs in the garden......

They perch on the clothesline before feeding the bugs to the babies (because their house is right below the clothesline).

But they really like to perch on the edge of the hanging basket holder that's right next to their house.

Their babies hear them chirping when they fly home with a bug and since those babies are always starving(!) the parents never get a rest.....

"More please, NOW, Mom!" ("Sigh," thinks mom)

During my photo session yesterday afternoon, one of the wren parents arrived with this epic-sized grub!

Let's see how the baby likes this treat......

Mom obviously considering whether to eat this tasty morsel herself or try to fit it in Junior's beak.

OK, let's try it again.......open WIDE!

Much wider, please!
That's good, you've almost got it!

OK, now get ready to swallow.......are you ready? I'm going to let go.

Oh No! YOU DROPPED IT!!

And Mrs. Wren goes back to searching for more insect treats in the backyard.
Watching these birds feed the insects they find is the main reason for never using pesticide sprays of any sort in my backyard. Having once inadvertently killed a family of bluebirds by spraying tent caterpillars with Raid, I learned a difficult (and valuable) lesson. Now I rely on the birds to do all the insect control work in my backyard and they seem to be managing the job very nicely.









15 comments:

Gaelyn said...

Natural insect removal is the Best. And looks like they are doing a great job. Such fun to watch.

Mama Pea said...

Great pictures, Ruthie! Hard to believe the size of that grub Mama Wren was trying to stuff in her baby's mouth!

Dawn Fine said...

Awesome Series.. Hope more follow your lead and dont use pesticides.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I love this series, Ruthie!

Taos Sunflower said...

Ruthie, you get the BEST photos! I love these. I had a brief "chat" with one of our baby swallows last week...it was peeking its head out of the little space they were nested in and it was just the dearest thing. Baby birds are yet another miracle, aren't they. Good on you for not using pesticides!!!

Mollie said...

Great photos and story line! Hope Mama Wren gets another grub and eats it herself! Agreed: no pesticides = happy year, birds other wildlife.
You could write a children's book with some of your photo series!

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Gaelyn. Fun to watch with so much activity going on right now.

Thanks Mama Pea. That grub was huge! I'm amazed at the interesting assortment of insects these wrens are finding in the backyard.

Thanks Dawn. I suppose there is some use for pesticides somewhere, but there's no way I can justify it with the birds and wildlife using my backyard.

Thanks Lynne. I was out there with the camera about 20 minutes. These wrens are very cooperative!

Thanks Martie. I had tree swallow babies this year but never got around to photographing them. They really are the tamest of all my house-dwelling birds. Glad you're getting to enjoy yours.

Thanks Mollie. I know house wrens aren't everyone's favorite backyard bird, but they sure are fun to watch.

Lori said...

Fantastically detailed photos! Thank you for sharing, and thumbs up on your "pest control" option!

Anonymous said...

I could almost hear that baby wren making a horrible gagging sound as mama shoved that grub down it's throat! And the look on baby's face in the 2nd to last shot is priceless!! He looks genuinely sad that he dropped the grub :(
Thanks for sharing!
Your sissy

Kelly said...

Aaaahhh! They are so cute (the mailbox wren house is cute too)! What an appetite...that bug was huge compared to that babies mouth!

...I will see you at the symposium! :-)

KGMom said...

Totally cool series of pics.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that was a wonderful "picture story". I've been following your blog ever since it came up on a knitting blog. It's just an adventure every time I read and wonder how your area is so alive with critters. "Down" here in TN we seem to have the same sorts of birds, and some animals like raccoons and possums -- only at different times.
(You do still knit, yes? )

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful series of wren photos. The babies and so cute.

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Loribird.

Thanks Sissy. I knew you would appreciate these photos since you have such an affinity for wrens. If you weren't spoiling yours with mealworms, they'd probably be trying to shove large grubs down their babies throats too!

Thanks Kelly. Looking forward to it!

Thanks Donna.

Thanks for leaving a comment Anet. I'm glad you're enjoying my blog. I hope you also enjoyed my recent post about knitting projects.

Thanks Eileen. They were really noisy babies too!

Lisa said...

I simply love your photos and the story you 'tell'. Thank you for sharing with others.