Wrens Return 2nd Year

by Shannon
(Conway, AR, USA)

We have a covered patio that is inset into our house on the back side, which we have crammed full of patio furniture, refrigerator, and toys (3 young kids).

In one corner across from the door, we placed a palm-style silk tree which has lots of silk greenery around the base of the plant.

Last spring we noticed that a wren couple was spending a lot of time in our patio and that they were busily flying back and forth into the silk tree.

They would sing while they worked but when we would come out on the patio, they would speed off to the back fence and scold us.

Once, after I watched them fly off, I searched through the faux foliage and discovered their secret nest in the base of that silk tree!

We couldn't believe it because there are acres and acres of heavily wooded land right behind our backyard fence.

We were amazed that with all the "real" habitat offerings available, they chose our silk tree on our very busy back patio.

They laid eggs and when the babies hatched, they flew back and forth bringing food to the babies, one day the babies were gone and we were sad that we had missed their departure.

My kids loved peeping into the nest and seeing the babies.

This spring, the wren couple returned and we were thrilled that they had come back. We watched their ritual of refreshing their nest and then tending to the eggs and then feeding the babies.

One evening after the babies had hatched, we had friends over for a BBQ, the kids were running back and forth from the pool and the adults were sitting at the patio table under the ceiling fan with the music playing in the background.

We noticed that the wren couple kept trying to come into the patio with worms and such dangling out of their beaks but they would get scared and dart out to a nearby perch and scold us.

We finally got the clue and got up and moved out to the other table by the pool and surrendered our patio to the wren family so they could feed their babies.

Sadly, we missed the grand departure again.

I thought that was it for the year but just this morning I saw the couple back on the patio singing again, I guess they like our busy patio because this will be the third time they've used our silk tree.

It's been so much fun for our family and friends to watch the wren couple.