March 20, 2017 – There’s a Carolina Wren looking at me

        Out working on clearing the back property line near the compost bins, I had a visitor – a Carolina Wren.  When I moved here to the Carolinas it took a long time before I spotted my first Carolina Wren.  They were rather scarce at my first home in the county.

        But, when we rented the Big House in near the center of Rutherfordton, I considered it “city” as there were “sidewalks” on which to walk my dog, Josephine.  Having been born and raised in the country on roads with no street lights compared to the County seat with sidewalks and street lights I considered myself a “Towney,” which made the locals laugh at me. It was a huge old two story house on a dead end street in the old section.  Lots of mature Maple trees, on small lots and rather quiet.

        The first week we moved in – first week of January - I heard the voice of this diminutive bird.  But, I couldn’t locate him.  I was at the kitchen sink and kept peering out toward the neighbor’s house studying her trees.  Eventually I found him when I went outside and started to look at the shrubs near my kitchen sink window.  The Carolina wren was busy building a nest in the corner alcove of a small window almost completely blocked by the refrigerator in the kitchen.   In old houses, appliances get tucked in where they can be tucked in.  There was about 6 inches  between the window and the refrigerator on the righthand side and my view was very limited from inside. I knew exactly what type of bird he was by his call and his cinnamon feathers and sharply upright tail.  I’d never had a Carolina wren nest to keep an eye on before – it was something to look forward to. I had so much fun watching the nest daily and seeing the eggs and eventually the birds grew and flew off.   It is a simple pleasure.        

        When we moved to this house – they seem to be very friendly and everywhere.  They nest in pots that get blown in the wind and wedged under the shed . . . often in the cover the propane gas tank, or they make a nest early in the season in a watering can that hasn’t yet been used yet and they come flying out as I am picking it up to use.  They are adorable little birds with that wonderful upright perky tail and are vocal to say the least.

        So, I wasn’t really surprised that I had a Carolina Wren visit me as I was sitting to rest been screening compost.  I noticed he hopped into the new compost bin that had kitchen peelings and egg shells in it and was tossing things around with his beak and occasionally stopping to check that I was still just sitting there – eight feet away.  I thought he was picking out nesting material but he was eating something that he liked and he was pulling away material to get at it.  I sat still as a statue and simple watched him – what a delight.  I wasn’t “on-the-clock” so to speak so I could sit there all afternoon and enjoy the moment.

        The sunlight on his cinnamon feathers seemed to glow in the late afternoon sun.  When the tall pines at the top of the ridge on the neighboring Kudzu property “swooshed” in the wind, the wren would jump onto the compost wire rim and look all around for predators ending his look directly at me and decided I hadn’t moved and it was safe.  Then he would jump back into the compost.  Eventually he darted off under the shed and probably came up on the other side where I see nests often in the pots under my potting shelf.  When I find them – I leave them alone, but I remind myself to check on them weekly to see the progress.

        Everyone should have those kind of work breaks – watching a Carolina Wren.