Sometimes when one is feeling cooped up with summer cabin fever, the universe will send a little gift from the great outdoors right to one’s window. This little molting Carolina wren was sitting on a dead rhododendron branch, singing very loudly and with marked enthusiasm. A bright streak of sunshine bathed him in a magical aura. After I got my camera he started to preen, and preen, and preen.
Just now the wren from Carolina buzzed
through the neighbor’s hedge
a line of grace notes I couldn’t even write down
much less sing.
Now he lifts his chestnut colored throat
and delivers such a cantering praise —
for what?
For the early morning, the taste of the spider,
for his small cup of life
that he drinks from every day, knowing it will refill.
All things are inventions of holiness.
Some more rascally than others.
I’m on that list too,
though I don’t know exactly where.
But, every morning, there is my own cup of gladness,
and there’s that wren in the hedge, above me, with his
blazing song.
~ Mary Oliver
(The Wren from Carolina)
‘Twas my lucky morning! You never know who might stop by. These pictures were taken through a dirty window with my neighbor’s wall and window in the background. I’m glad her shades were closed — there were already enough reflections cluttering up the shots. I’m surprised the photos came out as well as they did.
What a marvelous bit of serendipity! I love this perfect imperfection of a fledgling. Or do the adults molt, too? Thank you!
You’re welcome! I did a little research and found that fledgling Carolina wrens don’t sing like this one was singing. The adults do molt in late August and September so I think this guy is an adult.
Your photos and quote is a perfect pairing. The sunshine is lovely. My favorite is the photo with it looking straight at you!
Oh, I feel so sorry for this little bird who appears to be itching miserably. I hope it finds its way to your deck where your bubbly bird bath is located!
According to Google for your molting Carolina Wren:
“Encourage bathing.
The new “pin feathers” that grow in are surrounded by a keratin sheath, which can be irritating and itchy. Providing a water source can help a wren soften these sheaths and relieve discomfort.
* Birdbath with a dripper: Wrens are especially attracted to moving water. A birdbath with a bubbler or a dripper creates the kind of motion that catches their attention and encourages them to bathe.”
Thank you, Teri! And thank you for all the interesting suggestions for helping the Carolina wrens through their molts. Those pin feathers must be very irritating when they’re coming in. Also, I bet the sunshine felt good on his skin and I’ve understood that some birds ‘deliberately expose their feathers to direct sunlight to raise their body temperature, which acts as a natural pesticide against parasites.’ If he has parasites on top of new pin feathers it must be driving him nuts, but he was singing a very pretty song for the longest time before he started preening. Maybe he was thanking the sun for some relief! I hope he finds his way to the birdbath, too. That little bubbling fountain is sure to attract him.
A hearty singer, no matter the attire. I wonder if molting is an itchy process? 😉
Enjoyed the MO poem, too. 🙏🏼
So happy you enjoyed the poem, Eliza! 🙏🏼 According to what Teri found on Google molting does itch when those new pin feathers pop through the skin.
Thus, lots of preening!
A most useful occupation!
Poor baby! I feel sorry for all these moulting birds, from ducks to the smallest songbirds. Some of Jocelyn Anderson’s pictures of the Red-winged Blackbirds that visit “The Hand of Snacks” are downright pitiful with their feather loss on the head. This little wren has energy to sing which is good as the ducks do nothing but snooze and I can tell you from having parakeets and canaries, that they stop talking and singing during the molt. We used to tape the canaries singing pre-molt and play the tape recorder so they could hear themselves to encourage them to start singing again. The molt is difficult on them and they were listless and slept most of the time. How lucky you were that you got so many pictures – it looked like it liked you taking its picture as it kept posing on the branch!
I remember you’ve had a lot of experience watching the misery your parakeets and canaries would go through when molting. 🙁 I’m glad this guy wasn’t listless – he seemed bound and determined to preen and make the best of the situation. I remember the molting blue jay who visited me during Hurricane Henri back in August 2021 in Connecticut. They can look so scruffy and disheveled and I imagine they feel pretty yucky, too. Your birds were lucky to have your TLC helping them through the tedious process.
I supposed the wild birds may be feeling yucky, but can’t let their guard down, so they stay perky and put on their own version of a smiling face to the world (and its predators). My canaries did not like taking baths – neither did – I bought them several types of bathtubs. The parakeet enjoyed a bath.
The last canary I had, Buddy, would hop into his water cup to have a bath. He would splash water all over the place – wetting the bars and his covers and himself, even in Winter – not good for catching a cold. The bathtubs hang on the cage door with an enclosure to eliminate that problem, but he refused to use it (in Summer or warm weather), so I had to take his water cup out of the cage, then run over and put it in about every 30 or so minutes, wait until he had a drink and take it out again. It was a nightmare sometimes when I worked because the phone would ring and I couldn’t leave him alone with that cup for a minute, without him jumping in. I started taking the phone off the hook to eliminate the problem as I dealt with Buddy, then washed my hands before I went back to work. I left the cup in at night and had him so swaddled and in a dark room to sleep, that he did not go down to the water cup (thankfully).
It sounds like Buddy was a pretty high maintenance fellow! He certainly kept you on your toes caring for him with all his quirks. You are such a thoughtful caregiver, Linda.
He was a high maintenance fellow Barbara and unlike Sugar, his predecessor, he was quite high strung and skittish, even after I had had him for a while. He was a Mop-Top Canary and maybe the different breed is why. Thank you Barbara – I do love pets, but not for me anymore as it’s too difficult to lose them. I was/am upset enough this year losing “MY” squirrels. I’m back to the Park now my fourth day and there are three squirrels: a black one that is timid, a Fox squirrel that comes running right over to me (I’m wondering if it is/was Parker’s mate that I named Penelope long ago and fawned over) and a Fox squirrel that ran away from me the first day and I’ve not seen it since. Two squirrels does not make for a “squirrel experience” and, if there are youngsters in nest, I’ll eat my hat, as these were not nursing mamas. And no birds – sigh. Patience is a virtue but still ….
A park without many squirrels just isn’t the same…
No, it isn’t, but I’ll try to cultivate this interaction with this little female Fox squirrel and maybe the black squirrel, if it’s not too timid. But the entire Park experience has lost its luster, that’s for sure. Today at the grocery store I saw they had no bags of the people peanuts in the bag I always got for them – good thing I have all the bags I bought in early Spring, assuming there would be more squirrels eventually.
I wonder if there’s something genetically different about fox squirrels and black squirrels that makes them find it easier to adapt to sudden changes in their environments. Survival of the fittest? It will be interesting to notice in the coming months and years which squirrels survive and if any of them will thrive.
That’s a good question Barbara because it can’t just be the size. The Fox squirrels are a little bigger, but I think the smaller gray and black squirrels always seemed to be more lithe, even energetic, especially when dashing up/down a tree. I remember thinking back in March, having seen only seven squirrels, then in May with only one squirrel, “I hope there are enough of each gender, not to mention species, so we can start to build up the ranks again.” I am convinced if I don’t see youngsters soon, then pairing didn’t happen and sadly may not. If some squirrels escaped to the neighborhood, (if in fact coyotes and eagles were in the Park and ravaged the other squirrels and they witnessed that), then I don’t think they will return there.
I know you understand just how tarnished the whole Park experience has become. I will continue to visit and encourage some interaction. Maybe they (and I include birds here too) will remember to return in the Winter, but I know I will be hard-pressed to make a dicey trip on foot on slick roads with only one mouth to feed.
🙏 🐿️ 🤞
Me too – I sure hope so Barbara. 🙏 🐿️ 🤞
At least he’s looking on the bright side and finding something cheerful to sing about, right? I suppose he doesn’t know this isn’t his best look! Still, I’m delighted he came to visit and that you’ve shared him with us. Mary Oliver certainly had a way with words!
Right! Nothing better than singing a chirpy song to release those endorphins in his brain, kind of like human beings singing in the shower. 🙂 I agree with you about Mary Oliver, she found so many amazing ways to describe the behavior of birds and other animals.
I’m so glad this little birdy hung around for you to enjoy taking photos! So often they dash away in a blink!
It was amazing! I finally gave up taking pictures and went back to my laptop – he wasn’t going anywhere else. 🙂