The answer is a strongly probable YES! Last Saturday Greg was watering the garden during the late afternoon and went out to move the hose. As he stepped out the front door he suddenly stopped and whispered, "Get your camera!"
I had no idea what had caught his attention, but I followed his instructions immediately. As I carefully stepped out onto the front porch, he softly said, "There! In the aromatic aster by the path. A fledgling wren...."
I took a photo, although all I could see was a small, brownish mass. As I slowly edged to the right, a little more of the young bird came into focus. Definitely one of the Carolinas.
As I watched and shot a couple photos, the young bird couldn't stand the suspense any more and fluttered to the base of the Bradford pear, about 20' away. Both Greg and I were scanning the garden bed, porch and breezeway for signs of a cat, but all seemed quiet. I moved quietly to try to get another photo, but I was moving too much for Little Wren and it frantically flew/scrabbled...
... up to the lowest crotch of the Bradford pear, where it blended into the bark of the tree and rested a bit.
Then it seemed to decide that it needed to go higher into the tree. Rather than flying, it tried to climb the righthand trunk....
Actually, come to think of it, the little bird did more than try to climb the trunk. It wasn't pretty, but little fledgling succeeded in climbing up it! I lost sight of the fledgling in the tree canopy.
Meanwhile Greg noticed another fledgling, also in the Bradford pear, that I never actually set eyes on. Mom and Dad were frantically flying around, sounding the danger alert and trying to distract us.
After Fledgling No. 1 disappeared up into the Bradford pear, unable to see Fledgling No. 2, I checked out the nest pot next to the porch roof - I'd been hearing some cheeps still coming from its vicinity. Sure enough, there was a less adventuresome fledgling still snuggled down into the doorway of the nest, watching all the uproar going on below and not quite ready to leave the security of the only family home it had ever known.
We decided that we'd interrupted things quite enough already, so we went back inside the house to check on the cats, leaving the wrens to their important business. TJ and Bella were sound asleep inside, escaping the heat of the day. Ranger was sprawled on the back deck in the shade, also napping in the afternoon warmth. All of the cats were so used to the wrens sounding the alarm whenever they were around that they paid no attention to the alarm being sounded now....
We were able to keep TJ and Bella inside the house until dark. Ranger meandered around a bit but, as far as we can tell, all of the young wrens managed to fledge successfully. Certainly we've found no piles of feathers anywhere, and we can hear the wrens calling each other in the trees along the creek on the north side of our property. (At least we're telling ourselves they are "our" wrens.) The nest pot is quiet.
A few more noisy, little, rusty brown bundles of energy have joined the big world here in south central Kansas. They will definitely help to keep nature balanced. I can't help but smile as I think about them.
Too cute with that tuff of feathers on its head! I think I had a carolina wren here last fall for a few days. Great that they're thriving at your place!
ReplyDeleteHahaha, this weekend my nephew, his friend and I watched the only birdlet (i dont know how to call them)of the oriole get out of the nest, which is not really very concealed on the swaying branches. I saw it when already trying to fly short branch distances, but its tail is still small. I also get frantic and stressed with the very noisy chatters of the parents, i wonder what they are telling their young. I am afraid the crows might get by and get the nestling. My nephew said it will maybe stay on the canopy for a day and will fly farther the next day. But the concern of the parents is really wonderful, very protective and assuring, i suppose! I thought if only they can have arms to hold its hands!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting!! We checked on the blue bird eggs a couple weeks ago and in place of the eggs were some little birds. I don't know how long it takes them to fledge, but they are gone now. .I hope they did ok!! I long for quieter days/evenings in which I could keep better track of nature. .but I keep assuring myself that someday there will be more of those days. .and I may wish the business back!! Thanks for the post. .loved it!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. We have a tabby that roams outside, but I think it is too old and fat to do much hunting. I really like your nest pot. Did you make that yourself?
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of this big event! I always worry, too, when our fledglings are ready to leave the nest that our cats aren't anywhere nearby. Glad the wrens made this big step safely!
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