Look Closely

Do you see anything? A chair, anything else? Well besides the mess of shoes and stuff.


Look even closer, now you see it, a nest, in our chair, on our back deck! Doesn't look like a great place for a home to me, but I'm not a bird.




An even closer look shows you that we have baby birds. They are baby wrens. Wrens are notorious for building nest in odd places, often in the corners of front porches. We had seen the mom and the nest but hadn't realized she had laid eggs, until they had already hatched.


A week or so later, they look much different. We've gotten to watch momma bird bringing a meal of worms and other insects on several occasions.






A few weeks later, we happened to be downstairs and got to watch the four little birds fledge the nest. It was really neat. They were all quite brave, leaving the nest, dropping to the deck floor, wobbling their way to our post and then leaping off into the back yard. Well, except for the last one, who was slow and timid enough for us to catch on film. He took his time, almost saying this seems crazy why am I going to fling myself off this deck. But he finally joined his siblings in the backyard and then onto the trees.

Carefully surveying the job ahead, he sat here for quite awhile, the momma bird even came to check on him and give him a little pep talk.



Onto a little higher place, but gripping tightly onto the deck.

Just about ready, and then he went. We cheered, knowing we had watched a big moment in the life of a little bird.