Clown Car: Fledging Wrens

We've been keeping a close eye on the wren house to catch the baby wrens fledging. This morning after our walk, we stepped outside with breakfast. Mike noticed one was out and got a few pictures of it. Unfortunately, he had to go to work, but Chris was set up with the binoculars and camera to see what followed. We thought we had three in there, but it turns out there were five in total. Chris watched the whole thing, which took place over about an hour after Mike's leaving for work. When she tried to share with Mike how fun it was to watch and her surprise at the number that came out, the analogy she made was that it was like watching one of those mini cars at the circus that clowns just keep coming out of. It really was a great experience, one that Chris is sorry Mike missed. It actually brought a bit of dampness to Chris's eyes when that last little one took the leap of faith and followed its older siblings into the big and exciting world that awaits them.







In the photo above, a parent wren is returning to the nest with an insect only to find two of the baby wrens stepping out.








Click on the picture below to see a slide show of the wrens leaving the nest for the first time.