Spring has arrived...

..., or has it?

For many years I have had a wren build a nest in the window which houses my air conditioner for the studio. I listen to the fluttering wings as the nest gets built each year and I hear the peeps of the babes as they eagerly eat the meals brought to them by their devoted parents.  I watch the wren swell with pride and hear him announce to anyone or anything that cares to listen, what a great dad he is, what magnificent babies are in the nest. It is a rite of passage; the building of the nest before the weather really changes and the ongoing noise.  Wrens are incredibly loud for such a small bird.

Tom and Laura build bird nests one spring and we hung a few in the yard for the sparrows and other small birds who grace our trees and bushes.  They eat my sister out of house and home as she is the person of interest who gets the feeders filled.  I stopped feeding birds years ago when I realized I just was fattening them up for the greedy cats that lived here, too.

The wren, I have been told, courts many women and has more than one wife.  I can’t prove this, but I have no reason to disbelieve it. Mr. Wren spends a lot of time after the nest is ready convincing Mrs. Wren to choose the nest.

This year the fluttering started in early January.  With this bizarre winter not really arriving, all things outside were confused.  By mid-February when the sub- zero weather actually arrived, all activity stopped at the air conditioner window and silence ensued for several weeks.

Suddenly today there is a flurry of activity, but it isn’t wrens!  I think a sparrow has gotten a real estate license and has evicted the wrens.  I hear arguing and loud chattering and stamping feet on the air conditioner and when I peek out, it is sparrows; dozens of them. I’m sure sparrows have a right to nest as do wrens, they just aren’t as amusing to me.

It seems rather odd that so many sparrows are out there arguing. Maybe sparrows court more than one woman or maybe this one just brought all his friends around to check out his most excellent nest he confiscated from the wren.

Hopefully Mr. Wren will find one of sweet little bird houses and take up residence.  I will miss his boisterous announcement of the wee ones he is always so proud of.