Mrs. Carolina Wren and the Flowerpot

This story starts with a white plastic flowerpot stored on my back porch. It had really just been tossed into another pot to get it out of the way, and was sort of lying on its side.

This spring a pair of Carolina Wrens decided it would be a good place to set up housekeeping. So, Mr. and Mrs. Wren built a nest in the pot.

When my curiosity got the better of me, I went out to take a look. At first I couldn't see anything. The nest was built with the opening on the side so it was hard to peek into it.

So I bent down and got closer...and closer...and...

Suddenly this tiny little bird streaks past my face and flies away! It startled me like you wouldn't believe! I decided I wouldn't bother her any more. But, as time went on I wondered if she had abandoned the nest or if she had her young. Because I didn't see them any more.

One morning while sitting at my desk I heard a noise, as if something hit the screen on the window next to me. I turned to look and there was a Carolina Wren clinging to the screen! As I pulled back the sheer curtains it few away. But, on the ground outside the window was a second Wren - feeding two babies! It was adorable!

I watched for a few minutes, and when I looked up, there was the original Wren that had been clinging to the screen, sitting on a limb of the tree, right at my eye level.

It seemed as if she was watching me watch her mate feed her young. She would turn her head and look toward her young on the ground, and then look back at me. After a few minutes she flew down to the ground and started feeding the babies too.

It was as if Mrs. Carolina Wren had knocked on the screen to show me her new babies, and to say "Thanks for the use of the flowerpot!"