Don't Leave Me!!

  Don't leave me!!!  Early this morning, quite a ruckus could be heard just outside the front door.  Panicking that a rat snake had found the baby wrens, I hurriedly opened the french doors and stared at the hanging basket that held the nest.  Nope. nary a snake could be found.  Then my thoughts went to the squirrels that are always climbing about the arbor.  Knowing that squirrels are not above eating baby birds, I searched again.  Nary a squirrel could be found.  A hawk, perhaps?  Nope, nary a hawk was in the vicinity.  Something was up, though, as the parent wrens were having a fit in the tomato plants.  So, I tippy-toed out to the garden and was surprised to see baby wrens struggling to learn to fly!  My babies have left the nest!  I settled in on the garden bench to watch.  One, Two, Three. Where are the others?   There were five in the nest,  Wait!  I see one snuggled down under the rose bush.  Number Four!! Where is Number Five??  Try as I might, Number Five could not be found.  Disheartened, I figured the noise I heard was Number Five being attacked by some predator.  

  Since I had not had my coffee yet...hey, I even forgot to slip on shoes...I headed back inside.  Number Five lumbered around in the brain as I made coffee.  Taking the mug back to the doorway, I stood looking out at the nest.  Poor Number Five.  It saddened me to think that, though I pulled the mama and nest through the tropical storm, I was not there to help when the littles left the nest.  Poor Number Five!  

 

  Suddenly, "Peep".  Huh?  "Peep"  I had to look.  Gently, I pulled the basket aside and peered into the nest,  Yep!  Number Five was nestled deep inside!  Whoa!  Little One!  Get yourself in gear, Buddy!  The others are going to leave you behind!  "PEEP!"  Then, there was fluttering by my head!  Mama Wren returned to urge Number Five from the nest.  "Come on, Lazy Bones!", she seemed to be saying!  Number Five stretched up to the edge of the nest and tumbled to the ground.  Mama Wren hurriedly met him and encouraged him to the tomato plants.  Once inside the branches, he felt braver and was hopping from limb to limb.  Go, Number Five!!  Catch up with your siblings!  Now, the nest is empty and my heart feels happier!  Hopefully, all five will continue with their lessons and not meet up with some dire fate.  It is out of my hands now!  

As Our Main Course, We Have SPIDER!

  Early this morning, I needed a break from gardening so the front steps offered a shady spot.  From there I could watch the clouds building over the Bay while I sipped my lemonade.  It is also from there that I could listen to the sweet sounds of the baby wrens peeping in the hanging basket just above my head.  The tiny birds get so excited when they hear the slightest noise as they think Mama and Papa are bringing food.  To me, there is nothing better that babes of any ilk.

  The parent wrens had no problem entering the nest while I was just an arm's reach from the nest.  They have grown accustomed to my presence and just disregard the idea that I might harm them.  I delighted in seeing the birds flit in, pop a morsel in a gaping mouth and dart out again.  The search for food  was never-ending!  As I watched, I became aware of just what the birds were proffering as foodstuffs.  A few caterpillars, a few odd bugs and a lot of spiders. SPIDERS!!!  It seems that wrens have a thing for spider meals.  After about the fifth spider serving, it occurred to me that perhaps spiders were easy to find and easy to obtain.  Every nook and cranny about the bayou has some sort of eight-legged critter lurking therein.  Wrens being the busy, little hunters they are, have no problem snatching up the tidbits.

  Obviously, spiders are nutritious.  Otherwise, those feisty baby birds would not be growing so fast.  Another week and they will be ready to fledge.  Learning to fly will be the next big step in their survival training.  With that comes the lessons on hunting...perhaps even hunting spiders.  For now, however, the birds are snug in their nest as the storms are building.  Mama Wren is a wise bird to build her nest by the front door!

All's Well That Ends Well

  The little family of wrens that were in the greenhouse have all vacated the place..at least during the daytime hours.  Their nest in the hanging basket of Swedish Ivy stands empty.  In the early evening hours, Mama and Papa Wren gather their five little ones to spend the night in their cozy nest.  Soon, that too, will cease.  Mama Wren will choose a new spot in the greenhouse to have another brood.  In the meantime, however, the tiny tots are learning the ropes of being foragers.  Mama and Papa are teaching their brood the finer points of bug searching.  

  This morning at daybreak, I headed to the greenhouse to fetch some gardening supplies.  As soon as I opened the door, the entire place was aflutter with the fledglings.  The little ones were out of the nest and trying their new found ability to fly.  I am glad that they have the safety of the greenhouse to try their wings for the first time.  This gives them a predator free spot to learn to the new skill.  Once I realized that I had walked in on a bunch of tots exploring the plants, I immediately backed out sans my supplies.  Those would have to wait a bit.  It was not long before the first little one found its way outside.  I watched for a moment as Mama and Papa doted on the little squirt.  They made such a big ado about its ability to fly a good four feet!  Satisfied that the parents knew what they were doing, I went back to weeding the garden.  I could hear one after another of the little ones making the great escape from the greenhouse.  Mama and Papa were elated...until about five minutes after the last little one flew the coop.  Then, a terrible screeching came from the little family.  Oh, my!!!  I have never run so fast for a bird!

  Not even paying attention to where I was stepping, I raced to the aid of the little birds.  By the time I reached the back of the greenhouse, two cardinals, a mockingbird and two thrashers joined in the commotion. Then, with the odds against them, two fat squirrels raced up the oak tree and started barking.  Had one of them tried to snack on a baby bird?  Stranger things have happened.  Squirrels have raided birds' nests before but usually for eggs and not baby birds.  I found no other predators in the area, though.  Mama and Papa were exceedingly alarmed and no babies could be found.  My goodness!  Five minutes out of the confines of the greenhouse and something terrible already happened?  Then a small peep.  One little one came out from under some leaves.  Yay!  Then another and another and another until all five babies were found!  Whatever attacked the little ones did not succeed!  My little family was safe! 

  All day, the family searched for bugs, practiced their flying skills and explored the hillside.  Late this evening, I noticed the parents herding their crew back into the greenhouse which makes me happy as we are expecting a night of stormy weather to hit the Bayou.  The little ones will be snug back in their hanging basket home for another night.

Sweet Little Family

  A pair of wrens nested in the hanging basket that holds a Swedish Ivy plant.  This planter is right inside the greenhouse door where I enter each day.  My trips in and out of the door never bothered the little wrens as they were building the nest and Mama Wren was never alarmed while she incubated her eggs.  I like to think that the wrens have accepted the fact that I will never harm them. 

  Yesterday as I entered the greenhouse, I heard a soft, almost inaudible peep.  Ahh, this sounded promising!  I gently turned the basket so I could see inside of the nest.  Yep, the eggs were hatching!  One, two, three fluffy grey heads with huge yellow beaks could be seen inside the tightly woven nest.  The other two eggs showed signs of hatching as well.  Mama and Daddy Wren were already on the search for bugs for their hungry brood.  Mama Wren had no qualms of leaving the eggs to hatch by themselves since the greenhouse was the perfect temperature.  No need to worry about the little ones at the moment.  It was more important to gather food for the soon-to-be hungry brood.

  While I busied myself with the herbs, Mama and Daddy Wren made trip after trip to the nest.  With each mouthful, the peeps grew stronger.  The birds were growing!  The next two weeks will find both parents tirelessly hunting.  Then, the little ones will fledge and learn to fly in the relative safety of the greenhouse.  After just one day, they will head outside to explore the world beyond the confines of these walls.  At night, however, the little wrens will come home to roost.  The greenhouse will be their home for the next few months as they learn the ropes of being an adult bird.  Meanwhile, Mama and Daddy Wren will start another nest and the whole process will start again.

The Empty Nest or the Greatest Mother's Day Gift?

  Today being Mother's Day, I set about my usual chores.  Yep, my kids have all grown and left the nest except for one who decided to stay put. Which is fine as he is a big help around the place.  The others are married and have their own homes.  The oldest, his wife and two children live far from the Bayou while my daughter and her husband are just a short distance away.  I figured that today was not much different than any other day and if chores needed doing, I needed to get them done.  One of the first things was to pot a few houseplants into some new hanging baskets.  Since this was to be done in the greenhouse, that was my first stop.  No sooner had I stepped inside than I knew that this was a huge mistake.  Birds!  Birds were everywhere!  The baby wrens had chosen Mother's Day to leave the nest!  My entrance into the greenhouse had the four tots all aflutter!  Their wild fluttering and frantic chirping soon brought Mama and Papa Wren racing inside also. Ok, so six birds flopping about the greenhouse in a frenzied panic was a bit much.  I started to ease out the door.  Then I had the bright idea!  I should open the door and let the little ones fly free!  As it was, they would have to make their way all the way up to the eaves of the greenhouse to the one small opening if they ever wanted to explore the wild, blue yonder.  That thought vanished as quickly as it came with the realization that two cats were on the prowl.  NO!  No, Little Birds!  Stay put and practice your flight inside the safety of the greenhouse!  I carefully backed out of the door and closed it behind me!  All babies were safe!

  The fledgling birds got me to thinking about Mama Bird's fantastic Mother's Day Gift. She witnessed her four little ones growing to maturity and leaving the nest.  She had done well and was rewarded by seeing them become quite the efficient little foragers.  Soon they would be on their own and she could sit back and smile. Yep, she had done her job as a mother well.

  This also got me to thinking about my Mother's Day.  It is a great gift indeed to see your offspring grow into hardworking, productive adults. I can honestly say that all three of my children have made me proud. Sure, I wish I could see them daily.  Sometimes that empty-nest syndrome makes me blue but overall, things are good.  Happy Mother's Day to you.....to me....to all of us who made it our priority to raise our children to be fine adults.  We did the job well.