January 12, 2010 - The Carolina wren is getting bolder and
coming closer into camera range in pursuit of water. Lucky placement of heated
birdbath for all of us. He has really developed a taste for solid seed shapes
too.
January 8, 2010 - We have had a monthly visit from the
Carolina wren since last May. Daily filling of the small feeder dish with meal
worms was the apparent first attraction. They are still dropping by for small
seeds served in our dinner
bell feeder.
It seems there is much disagreement in the bird books about
the northern division of New York state for year-round presence of Carolina
wrens. Well, no matter - they have been sighted and photographed from May to
January in our backyard.
August
20, 2009 - We are pleased that the Carolina Wren finds our meal worms
irresistible. This is our first year serving these delicious little guys. With
the bird cam set up we are seeing (new to our notice) birds enjoy this treat.
It's worth the expense to feed birds who don't usually come to feeders.
This creates many photo opportunities and brings great excitement in our
backyard (and inside the house) when we discover a new bird has visited
us.
After
studying the photos and the millions of bird reference books on our shelves, we
have concluded that we made an error last October (2008). What we thought was a
winter wren should really be a Carolina Wren.
We had at least two different house wrens since spring of
2009 (distinctive feather differences). When we spotted a larger wren with a noticeable white eye
stripe, we did some serious research.
It has been difficult to get clear close-ups because the
wrens only come to the feeders to eat mealworms and occasionally visit the birdbath to drink water to wash them down. Photo updates will be
forthcoming, we hope.
On October 27, 2008 we watched a new little bird come
to our pond to take a drink. Because it was almost 5:00 in the evening and
starting to get dark, the photos we took were of rather poor quality, so we were
contented to just watch.
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Size:
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Length: 5.5 in Weight: .7
oz
Wingspan: 7.75 in
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ID:
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Male: Largest wren in eastern North
America; gray bill long, sharp, slightly downcurved; short,
often upraised tail with heavy dark barring; wings barred with
dark brown; rusty to warm brown upperparts; white chin and
throat; bold white eye stripe running from beak towards back of
head; warm, buff underparts;
silver gray anisodactylous (three toes point forward and one toe points
backward)
Female and Juvenile: Similar to male
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Habitat:
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Forest undergrowth; thickets and shrubs; suburban gardens
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Diet:
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Insects and invertebrates found in trees or by foraging on
ground; berries, fruits and seeds; will come to feeders for
peanut products, suet and mealworms
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Family Behavior:
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Mating Habits: Monogamous and solitary; 2 broods
per year
Local Breeding Period: Mid-March to early
April
Nests: Female and male build in
any cavity large enough to hold bulky nest (logs, under tree
roots or in parts of buildings, nest boxes, and often in unusual
places); mass of twigs, leaves, bark, moss, lined with feathers,
grass and moss
Eggs: 4-8 pinkish white heavily speckled with
brown mostly at
large end; female incubates 12-14 days
Nestlings: Born altricial (helpless, naked, eyes closed) and
stay in nest 12-14 days; fed by both parents
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Social Activities:
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Energetic; usually stays hidden in
bushes and tangles; often seen in pairs; scampers on ground to forage
for insects and berries; will roost in nest boxes
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Range:
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Non migrator; Southern New England, west to
Iowa and all of Southeastern US
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Vocalization:
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Beautiful singing voice, bold and clear; can
sing 25-40 songs; male will perch on conspicuous branch while
female may chatter along; "teakettle, teakettle, teakettle; or
cherry, cherry, cherry; can make harsh, scolding rattle or sharp
chip
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Lifespan: |
At least 9 years |
