A tiny visitor
For the last three days, I’ve had a tiny Jenny Wren visiting the tree outside my window. Superb Fairy Wrens are some of my favorite birds. The male is, as usual in the bird kingdom, the more spectacular in color, having brilliant blue and turquoise patches, edged with black. The Jenny (the female) is a soft muted brown.
They’re both tiny, smaller than a sparrow, and hop about like jaunty little puffballs, with their tails sticking up. At this time of year I’ve had excellent views of the birds in the fig tree outside my window, as the branches are bare for winter, so a tiny hopping ball of fluff is easy to see. I did try to take a photo of my little visitor, but each time I moved, off she flitted.
But today there were two Jennys in the tree, so I’m hopeful they’ll be back. I haven’t seen a male yet — their colors are lovely. There are quite a few dense native trees and bushes around here, so fingers crossed they decide to breed close by and I’ll have more little visitors in the future.
These are the fairy wrens I see in my area, but there is an even more spectacularly blue one that lives in more remote areas — the Splendid Fairy Wren, and the Jennies even have a touch of blue. Do a google image search to see what I mean, or read about them here. I love these tiny birds.
Do you get birds visiting you?
Anne-
I heard a knocking on a windows, i thought someone was trying to break in! I actually called 911-the police emergency number in the US. But before they got to my house, I caught sight of my would-be burglar -which actually turned out to be a very insistent woodpecker. I quickly called back 911 and told them that my burglar was a woodpecker. LOL
That’s so funny, Binnie Syril. I have had the occasional bird banging on my window, but it’s generally some male in breeding season, trying to attack his own reflection.
Anne, What a beautiful little bird. The female is certainly a sweet little thing. We feed birds, so have many species around. We have a goldfinch that is small. The male is a stunning gold and black color. My grandmother always called them wild canary. The female is a soft brown. We enjoy watching the birds. Thanks for the post.
Thanks, Carolyn, they are lovely — so tiny and jaunty and sweet-looking. And I’ve since discovered there are other blue wrens, some even more spectacular in color than these ones. And robins. I’ll post I think I’ve only ever seen a goldfinch in a cage, and since I realized birds like budgerigars in the wild live in large flocks, I don’t like to see them in cages.
Wrens are some of my favorites. Our Carolina wrens are not spectacularly colored (brown on the back with some subtle, darker crossbars on the tail feathers, cream on the belly, and stripes above their eye) but are full of personality and have a distinctive, cheerful song. They are curious about us and not too shy. If I am on my deck or in the garden, they’ll take a good look at what I am doing, then return to energetic rooting around in the leaves looking for bugs. Most years we have a nest somewhere in the yard and so we… Read more »
Robin, how wonderful to have wrens nesting nearby and appearing regularly in your yard. I’m wary of encouraging birds to land in my back yard, as my dog loves to chase them away, but the front is full of native plants, and the dog can’t get them there. I have several friends who are keep bird supporters and often have nests and babies to observe and protect.
Anne,
Thank you so much for sharing the beautiful ,beautiful story about our fairy wrens. I am from Western Australia and saw these spectacular splendid fairy wrens in the Karri forest area of my state some years ago,It is so beautiful when these birds can come near your home. I’m now living away from the beautiful forest and don’t get to see the spectacular animals and birds of our country.
Regards Pamela
Oh Pamela, how I envy you. I planned to drive down to the great Karri and Jarrah forests of southern WA one year, after I’d gone to a writing conference in Fremantle. However I was barely at Margaret River when the cold I’d caught at the conference turned nasty, and I ended up going to bed for nearly a week. By the time I was fit to drive again, it was time to head for Perth and catch a plane home. In WA you have the Splendid Fairy Wren which is even more spectacular in color than our Superb Fairy… Read more »
I am an avid reader from Canada who has read almost everything you have written. I also love bird watching, living in an area with a lot of trees (not in a big City). I have several bird feeders out in my yard & this spring we had an invasion of Cedar Waxwings! I was wondering if you are embarking on another series or continuing on with one of the others? I SO look forward to your next book! My childhood was one of poverty but I read everything I could get my hands on when my older sisters taught… Read more »
Lovely to hear from you, Joyce — and thank you for reading my books.I am in a big city and fairly inner at that, but apart from an olive three and a few lemon trees, all the trees I can see from my windows are natives, and the birds love them. I’m very blessed. I just hope developers will stop knocking down the old houses with the large gardens and filling the space with buildings. Where in Canada are you? I have travelled a bit in Canada, but mainly the east and west coasts, and not in the middle, even… Read more »