Snowdrops and Wrens

15 March

K’nuff checks the sculpture after 24 hours of freezing rain

---

Noticing Nature #25: Wrens

Winter Wren, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Marsh Wren, and Sedge Wren.

Wrens are some of the best little birds. Lots of character and not afraid to shout at you if they think you need shouting at. When we lived in England we had a high and think beech hedge between our garden a neighbour and most years there were Wrens nesting inside it - the hedge made the location remarkably cat proof. We rarely actually saw the birds, but they would tell us at full volume when we walked down the path beside their hedge that we should just keep moving. Nothing see here, get along, get along. This was, of course, the Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) which is the only Wren species - of 86 - not to be found on this continent. Allmost all the other species are in central and southern America. Although being small birds (often under 10 grams), they’re incredibly energetic. In the breeding season they can eat nearly their body weight in insects daily. The combination of tiny size, long cocked tail, thin curved bill adapted for probing into crevices and dense vegetation, and plain brown coloration makes wrens fairly distinctive. The upright tail posture is particularly characteristic compared to similar small brown birds like sparrows or warblers, which more often hold their tails horizontally. All of “our” species except the Carolinas migrate south for winter.

Here in Quebec we have five of the eleven Wrens species native to North America. In the picture above, there from left right - Winter Wren, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Marsh Wren, and Sedge Wren. The coffee and bread are for the hungry birder to enjoy, the snowdrops because it’s that time of year over here. The Winter Wren is the closest in appearance to the Eurasian Wren and up to 2010 the two were considered to be the same species before the decision was taken to split them. Certainly when we moved to Canada in 1998 they were certainly thought to be the same species.

House Wrens are cavity nesters that almost overdo the task with the male building several potential nests from which the female will select one to lay eggs in. Their songs are complex, with males singing up to 100 different note types to defend territories. Winter Wrens are even more intricate in their singing emitting a cascading series of notes lasting several seconds.

Marsh Wrens specialize in wetland habitats, building domed nests among cattails and reeds, sometimes constructing multiple decoy nests to confuse predators.

The Carolina Wrens are our personal favorites. No more than 10 or maybe 15 years ago the first birds arrived in southern Quebec, a range extension largely attributed to milder winters and habitat changes. Being essentially ground feeders they were often knocked back by severe winters but more recently they have managed to establish themselves as residents aided by urban heat islands, bird feeders providing winter food, and slightly reduced snow cover allowing occasional access to ground foraging. We have a pair visiting our feeders this winter and last and more than often seen them in previous winters, albeit more sporadically. Once winter is over they rapidly disperse though one year we had a pair raise young in a flower pot beside our front door … the flower pot that last summer raised a brood of American Robins.

Tool-using Wrens - The Doorstep Drummer

It’s interesting how even the wildest of creatures can take on perceived personalities if you spend enough time observing their activities. A few winters ago we were disturbed by periods of steady tap-tap-tapping coming from somewhere around the back door leading from the kitchen to our deck. It was mid winter but we had had few brief days of early thaw and so we rather naturally gravitated towards thoughts that there is perhaps a leak of water somewhere. Drip, drip.

But where? We couldn’t find it.

Then it got quite loud and persistent. I went to the back door and peered through the glass panel - it seemed that the sound was coming from low down. No sign of a drip. Getting as close as I could to the glass in the upper part of the door I tried to look down. Nothing, so I reached for the key and started turning it, intending to go out and look. It made a small noise as keys do when turned and there was movement down there, almost out of sight. Coming into view I saw the drummer. A small Carolina Wren had stepped back and was looking up at me peering down at it. The Wren had been tapping its beak on the metal outer doorstep. But why? The ways of Wrens are mysterious, and there he was staring at me and clearly sending strong “go away” thoughts in my direction.

Eventually, we managed to find a vantage point that allowed us to watch the doorstep but not scare the bird. So this is the story … he/she was collecting peanuts from our feeders, carrying them one by one to the door and wedging them into the corner of the doorstep where they cannot roll around, He would then hack flakes off the peanuts to eat. If that isn’t another example of a bird using what is, in effect, a tool then I don’t know what is. Impressive and not a fluke. He/she was doing it for days. It is well known that Corvids in particular may use “tools” but I am not aware of such activity in birds such as this … I choose to use the word “tool” because the two birds are deliberately and repetitively taking a food item and transporting it to a place where it can be wedged and held still, the better to break up and eat. That corner, in this context, becomes a tool with a purpose. Clever.

Not Wrens

On Friday, my English alter ego published a second newsletter … maybe you will enjoy visiting the OLD Bookshop. He would be overjoyed if you decided to subscribe or follow. Includes book suggestions, mostly nature-related titles.

Four books, a snippet of history and some dancers

Birdwatching’s Carbon Problem

“Walk More, See More” - The Greenbirding ethos just makes sense

Birdwatching's Carbon Problem

Is Taxonomy Dying Out?

If I had my life over again I sometimes think I would want to be a taxonomist, probably specializing in something really obscure. Such an interesting thing to invest your life in, and so valuable. But not valuable enough it seems - nobody gets rich from these studies and universities are closing departments because of inadequate funding. I feel for the fellow interviewed in this article - “… nobody will continue his life’s work of identifying and studying this group of flies once he has gone.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/02/identify-species-taxonomists-crisis-art-borkent

Using our gardens to save wildlife

American Wildlife Wants You in the Garden

Day two of this year’s snowdrop season. At last.

And a seasonal walk in the Cotswolds … maybe one day?

Early spring in the Cotswolds

Unintentional, but careless habitat/species loss

https://thenarwhal.ca/nanaimo-slimleaf-onion-disturbed/

Only the spring will tell if the ground will hold water like it did before, how many of the plants will survive and whether the straw or site disturbance will result in a weed boom. No matter what, the slimleaf onion population will never again be what it was in numbers or genetic diversity.

“It was beautiful, and it’s all gone. And what was the reason, you know?”

If there had been a voluntary environmental assessment of the trail expansion in Nanaimo, a qualified biologist would have done a survey, perhaps even checked the iNaturalist database where multiple slimleaf onion and other Garry oak plants were logged on View Street. They would have established a baseline for the existing population and potentially found other threatened species. They may have recommended shifting or narrowing the course of the path to avoid the most sensitive habitat.