my little garden pals

there are wrens galore around our neighborhood and a couple nesting in houses in the yard and garden. i have never seen a more industrious bird--the males gather sticks like mad to build a nest that will win the approval of their mate. i've watched them patiently and deftly maneuver a stick twice their own length until it can be fit into the nesting hole and added to the nest in progress. if they happen to drop one they don't fly down and pick it up but take off and come back in a jiffy with a new one.

the chippewa indians had a long name for wrens which, when translated, is "makes big noise for it's size"--which is very true. their long warbling song is incredibly loud for a bird that is about 4 inches in size.

they are also very territiorial and destroy the eggs of other birds and wrens nesting too closely to them. sad, but true.
i love them anyway and no other bird is nearly as perky as my jenny wrens!