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June 12, 1980 - Now You See Our Wrens -- Now You Don'tJune 12, 1980 The Ouffolk Timex Now You See Our Wrens -- Now You Don't My mother used to call the house wren "Jenny wren" and it seems that every year we'd have one of these busy little wrens build its nest in one of the boxes I'd put up around the place. It was then that I learned the importance of having the correct -sized hole in the birdhouse for the specific bird I was trying to attract. If it was too large I'd attract the common house sparrow and if larger I'd attract the common starling. A one -inch hole was just perfect for this busy little wren. Birdhouses were my first financial endeavor. Having youthful enthusiasm, one spring I put together about ten boxes and proudly displayed them on stakes down in front of our house in Fleets Neck. Of. course, I thought the world was just waiting to buy birdhouses, and so got a chair and sat down to wait for my first customer. Needless to say this got quite boring for a young businessman, and so I soon found myself involved in other more youthful activities. Sometime in the after- noon a car did stop by and a gracious woman stepped out to admire my works of art. I dropped what I was doing and ran to my first customer. Which one would she take? She checked them all over carefully. Then the impossible happened. Jenny wren came from nowhere with a bill full of twigs and started building in one of the houses. That settled it. The deal was made, and I sold my first birdhouse because the woman was assured it would attract birds on her place. Multiple Birdhousing Little did I realize then that multi -nest- building was a characteristic of the wren family. If you have one box up it will build in that. If you have five it will build in all five. So it is that the wren builds and rebuilds. We're not quite sure if this multi - building spree is to discourage other wren families from moving into the area or if it's a picky housewife that just cannot make up her mind as to what view is best. At any rate, for those who have the privilege of having a house that wren built around their place, they are fortunate indeed for they are master insect collec- tors. Ninety -eight percent of their diet is animal matter. I had no difficulty in photographing this busy little wren in my back yard, for they were back and forth endlessly all day long and paid little attention to my amateurish photographic endeavors. Some people confuse the common house sparrow or English sparrow with the wren, as both will nest in boxes provided for them. With a little thought it's easy to see the difference. All wrens have long, pointed bills for insect collecting. These long bills are made for probing, extracting or pinning their prey. The English spar- row, on the other hand, has a broad and hefty bill used for breaking and cracking seed hull husks. This English sparrow will come to your feeder, while the little house wren will not. And of course the wrens are sleeker and smaller than the chunky English sparrow. Marsh Wrens Becoming Scarce We have other wrens, but none as common and neighborly as our house wren. There are two marsh wrens; the long-billed and the short - billed, but they are becoming harder and harder to find and I see none around our salt marshes as in olden days. In those days I would find them along the edge of the creek and you'd find their grass- covered nest woven in the tall thatch grass; and once you found one you'd soon find others. Each with its tiny little opening into the woven nest. There's a winter wren that's found occasionally in our deep woods during the winter, but few will 'see it, for it's most inconspicuous. We'll search it out on our Christmas bird count and only then find one or two in each area. Painting & Wallpapering Ca 298 -4993 PETER MARCUS For estimate after 5 pm ftafl,(�3 @G0 D�g2gTq"- Probably the noisiest of all the wrens and the largest is the Carolina wren. This songster can be heard year round and is one of the many birds that have slowly moved up into the north from their homeland in the south. Once you've heard this cheery warbling call, particularly on a warm winter's day, you'll never forget it. These wrens are found in cycles, as we think they are easily winter - killed when we have those severe cold spells that freeze up the few spots where food usually remains unfrozen. In all, the wrens are an interesting group of small but active birds. They are usually found near or on the ground, and because of their overall brown color are often overlooked. The one exception is the noisy little house wren who will use almost any cavity, including your bird box for his home. We once had one build in my wife's clothespin bag on the line. Needless to say we had to buy more clothespins so we wouldn't interrupt the wren's household chores. Because of his song and his likelihood to nest around our homes, the house wren is the most noticeable and likeable of all the wrens. Look for these tiny, fast- moving little birds, for they surely will give you a new insight into the natural world. They are always around us, but require a sharp eye and patience to seek them out. PAUL STOUTENBURGH Page I 1 A HOUSE WREN - -This busy chatterer is an expert at insect collecting and is often found nesting in our bird boxes. The key to attracting it is to have a one -inch opening in some of your boxes. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh Announcing a change ;n office hours as of June 2nd. Edwin F. Derby Optician will be CLOSED THURSDAY NEW HOURS: 477 -1800 Mon., Tues., Wed., & Fri. 9:30 - 5:00 137 Third St. Sat. 9:30 - 12:00 Greenport, N.Y. "CREDIT'S SHRINKING. EXPENSES ARE GROWING. BUT OUR BANK HASN'T LET US DOWN*ff Inflation is soari ng. And so are expenses. Yet now, when people need reliable credit the most, many banks have cut back the credit lines of their own customers. But not The Bank of New York. Not a single credit cutback. In fact, we've continued to accept credit applications, even from new cus- tomers. Because we know New Yorkers have expenses now that are as important as ever. Of course, The Bank of New York has always believed that over - extending credit was not in our customers' best interest. And that everyone should keep sensible spending guidelines. Many people will find, however, that within those guidelines, they still need financial assistance. Whether its aline of credll, au auur ivan to a home improvement loan, The Bank of New York will do its best to help. So if you're caught without credit by another bank's cutbacks, why not join me tnousanas of other New Yorkers whose bank didn't —and won't —let them down? Come to The Bank of New York. And you'll know why we're the Bank New lbrkers call their own. THE B NW YOP& The Bank New Yorkers call their own. Member FDIC ©1980 The Bank of New York