Our Little Carolina Wren

What’s cute, round, and loves to chatter?

Hmmph! Why, me…of course!

Was there ever any question?

"A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady"

One of my favorite nature books is A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, by Edith Holden. Written in 1906, it is a hand-written record of her daily walks and observations of the countryside around the small village of Olton in Warwickshire, England. Edith Holden is a talented artist and fills the pages of her book with beautiful watercolor illustrations of the wildlife and scenery found along the way. Rendered with a naturalist’s eye for detail, her paintings are soft, colorful and engaging. Her love and deep understanding of nature is apparent in every painting. She also scatters her favorite poems in with the illustrations and includes historical information and even folk mottoes.

Here is her entry for today’s date, February 9, 1906:

Snow-storm in the night, this morning we looked out on a white landscape, this is the first deep snow we have had this winter. I swept a space free on the lawn and strewed it with bread and rice. Crowds of birds came. I counted eight Tits at one time on the cocoa-nut and the tripod of sticks supporting it. There were some terrible battles among the Tits this morning. One tiny Blue-cap took possession of the cocoa-nut sitting down in the middle of it and bidding defiance to all the others. It was very funny to see him squatting in the shell, sparring and hissing at a Great Tit who came at him with open wings and beak. There was a partial eclipse of the moon visible this morning at 5:57 a.m. At 8 oclock in the evening there was a beautiful rainbow-coloured halo round the moon, unusually bright and distinct.

Edith Holden’s little coconut bird feeder on page 176 in her book.

One of these days, I’m going to make one for my yard.

The Great Blue Heron Heronry

Today I visited our Great Blue Heron Heronry (known to the birders around here as The Rookery). It’s only three miles from our house, but it’s not well known, and we lived in our house eight years before learning about it. However, we knew something was up somewhere around us because from the day we moved into our house in 1999 a Great Blue Heron (Big Blue) would fly out over our front yard in the morning (probably heading toward the Little Miami River) and fly home over our backyard in the evening. It may sound strange, but you feel special when you're on a Great Blue’s flight pattern. You start watching and waiting for him, and when he appears, it’s a like a friend is there. 

The first time we saw the heronry was on March 25, 2007 when it was in full swing. Huge birds were flying everywhere squawking, circling, landing, and carrying cumbersome sticks. From my field journal:

Rick, Matty and I went to the rookery today with high hopes. It was beautiful. There are six huge sycamore trees with over 63 nests (and those were just the nests I could see). The trees and nests are monstrous. I’ve never seen anything like it…so much activity!

In early February, however, it’s quite a different story. At this time, males are starting to pick out nests. Herons reuse nests, and older nests can grow to outrageous sizes. Pre-built nests are usually claimed first. When these run out, arriving males will stake out a site in the colony for a future nest. By the end of February, females start returning to the breeding grounds to pick out a mate. Every year, herons choose different mates.

Today when I arrived at 2:00, there was no action. I didn’t expect any because it was the middle of the day and I assumed the Great Blues were out fishing in the Little Miami River, but I knew at about 5:20 a heron would fly over our house and head for home, so I headed for the heronry then (just after I put some dinner in the oven). When I arrived, I saw one heron on a nest.

He is very handsome. You can just make out his 

breeding plumage in this photo. I need a 400mm lens!

…soon after, another heron flew in. Look at his path, 

he’s gunning straight toward the heron already perched.

Yikes! The first heron flies off and the newcomer takes his place.

…but First Heron decides he’s not giving up his stake 

without a fight and returns for a little claw action.

They struggle for a few seconds and eventually 

the newcomer flies off finding another branch, 

and First Heron reclaims his perch.

I am King!!

I’m going to travel to the heronry a lot over the next couple of months and will keep everyone posted on the progress of the colony. (Thanks for pulling the dinner out of the oven, Rick! Needless to say, I got caught up watching the herons and was about 10 minutes later than I expected returning home. :-) I'm sure it didn't surprise Rick at all.)

For Part 2 of this series, click here: Feb 13 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 3 of this series, click here: Feb 17 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 4 of this series, click here: March 6 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 5 of this series, click here: March 9 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 6 of this series, click here: March 10 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 7 of this series, click here: March 17 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 8 of this series, click here: March 31 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 9 of this series, click here: April 22 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

For Part 10 of this series, click here: May 3 at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

What a difference a day makes…

Today the temp hit 56, a far cry from the weather the past couple of weeks, and with the warmer temps, the big melt. As I was writing this, a huge slab of snow and ice started sliding off the roof. Such a sound! The scraping and sliding started slowly and then picked up speed, scaring me for a split second until I realized what it was. I hope the gutter didn’t get knocked off and a few shingles dragged with it. I think it’s supposed to be warm again tomorrow, a nice surprise for early February!

Just a few days ago Squirrel Nutkin was playing 

in the snow on my deck, scrounging out peanuts 

and looking incredibly cute. He was watching 

me intently as I sat on the floor in the kitchen 

snapping photographs of him right and left. 

Mr. Towhee where are you?

Every year, during the snowy days of early February, an Eastern Towhee comes to my feeders. He hangs around for about a week, and then he’s gone. Last year a female showed up on April 26, but she didn’t stay. Every now and then in spring and summer I can hear him in the woods off in the distance singing his “Drink your tea-eeeee” song, and I always hope he is on his way to our house, but he never is.

Last weekend Larry photographed this 

beautiful towhee in his backyard. 

Larry only lives about 20 minutes from our house, and he gets towhees all the time. What does he have that we don’t? Hmmm…well, I guess that would be thick woods…lots and lots of thick woods…and a pond. 

Here is a lovely shot Larry took of an Eastern Towhee 

in ice-encased Lemon Balm. I’m planting Lemon Balm 

this summer. Maybe that will lure him in. 

I can put in a small pond too!

…or maybe the towhee hasn’t stuck around because I can’t seem to get his new name right. No matter how hard I try, Rufous-sided Towhee still pops into my mind when I see one. That’s how I learned it 20+ years ago in my Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region, and I can’t seem to shake it. I’m getting better though, four out of five times I now say Eastern Towhee instead of Rufous-sided, but I still have to think about it. I think the name change occurred around 1995. You’d think I’d have it by now.

He is such a handsome bird, and it’s fun to listen 

to the rustle of the leaves and watch him jumping 

forward and back kicking up the leaf litter as 

he looks for seeds and invertebrates. 

…from this moment on, when I hear "Drink your tea-eeeee," I’m going to say Eastern Towhee. I can do it. Let’s see if that will bring him to my yard.

Ack, I’m doomed. As soon as I looked 

at this fellow, rufous-sided came to mind....

…spring sounds are starting to pop up!

This morning I heard the spring mating song of the White-throated Sparrow, “Oh sweet, Canada, Canada, Canada.” In those liquid, silvery tones I felt my heart quicken just a bit knowing spring really was on the way. Three days ago, an American Goldfinch slipped into spring song too, and I stopped to listen, anticipating the coming season. I wait for these early spring sounds every year. As soon as I hear them, I know spring will return. Unfortunately, I only heard the White-throated Sparrow’s song once, a stark reminder that at 7 degrees F this morning, winter is still very much here.

The White-throated Sparrow’s song is beautiful and distinctive. It’s almost a whistle you can copy (but it never sounds as good!). As the days start to lengthen and the temperatures warm, they will sing more and more, trying to attract mates. Unfortunately, once spring is in full swing, they will leave our area for their breeding grounds up north and in central Canada, but until then, we get to listen to their beautiful song. Our white-throats are usually gone by mid to late May. It always seems a bit hollow those first few days when their wonderful song is missing from the yard.

Rick, hanging out of the basement window in the cold, 

captured this male White-throated Sparrow. 

What we won’t do for our birds…

The American Goldfinch also starts an early spring song as mating season kicks off, a harbinger of the warmer temps and milder weather in store, but even though they are starting to sing now, goldfinches are late nesters. They don’t start building their nests until the thistle seeds start to ripen, and in our area, that’s usually late June or early July. American Goldfinches use the thistle down to help build their nests, and they feed their young weed seeds and thistle seeds instead of insects like the earlier nesting songbirds. Timing their nesting season with the ripening of thistle seeds ensures their survival.

Larry found this guy in his backyard posing 

for him after the recent ice storm.

And as another reminder that winter is definitely still here, my girlfriend, Teri, sent me a photo of one of our local robins sitting patiently (waiting for spring, I think) in her crabapple tree.



…and then shortly before I was getting ready to post this entry, my cousin in Louisville sent me this shot of her robins in her crabapple tree. Apparently everyone is waiting for spring, no matter the locale, but I’m not sure patiently is the word for it!

Ice shots...

When I started to write this entry, my fingers were still frozen from a 20-minute romp outside filling the bird feeders...and I was wearing gloves! That's why it always amazes me how these little birds can survive day after day, night after night, and year after year in these frigid, unfriendly temperatures. Such sweet, strong creatures…always pure and always happy...no matter what the weather.

Freezing weather cannot subdue this little guy’s spirit.
The ice just makes him look cuter...and brighter...

A Carolina Wren is caught in a sunbeam, 

making his chest glow. He looks nice and warm 

even though he’s sitting on an icy branch. 

This juvenile White-crowned Sparrow doesn't seem 

unhappy with the ice...stunning as usual. 

...and the male white-crowned, dapper. 

Not a worry on his brow. 

Red, you look like you need a peanut. Come on over 

to my place. I don't think you're going to get anything

out of those ice-encased seed heads any time soon.

...and Mrs. Red, I'm with you...ready for spring!

Thanks for the shots, Larry. You help bring Red and the Peanut to life.