Twenty Second Tweet ~ Carolina Wren

Here is what I am fairly certain is a Carolina Wren. In summer, we have many House Wrens that nest in our neighborhood but this winter is the first I’ve ever seen a Carolina. They visit our suet feeder but unlike the rest of the backyard birds I have never seen them take a drink from our many watering holes. They also sing a more melodic collection of sounds than this “cheep, cheep, cheep!” call that you’re hearing in the video which is lovely to hear outside our window on frosty cold January days. Both “our” Carolina and House Wrens often scurry about in the underbrush and fly from shrub to shrub, like this one seen in the video tucked amongst the azalea branches. Last summer I loved to watch the House Wrens zip across the yard just above the grassline over to the hostas to hunt for insects–the leaves moving comically as they traveled–and then zip! back across the yard to the nest landing in the roses and then zoom! straight up into the box, a beak full of tasty morsels for their chicks. Carolina Wrens are larger than House Wrens and have a more prominent white eyebrow. They can be distinguished from Bewick Wrens in that Bewicks are more grey in coloring/not as tawny. A Winter Wren is smaller, with a shorter tail, a less prominent white eyebrow stripe and darker coloring than a Carolina Wren. (I learned these identification tips from Cornell which is the best site to get birding info, I think. For more info on Carolina and other wrens, visit them HERE.)