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August 17, 2000 - A look back at the Carolina wrenIOA • The Suffolk Times • August 17, 2000 A look back at the Carolina wren 1 thought it would be interesting to try something just a little bit different. We have a file called "unpublished articles," and in this file are articles 1 have written but were never published. One in particu- lar is rather timely in the sense that it is about Carolina wrens and we have a family of Focus them nesting right ON now at our house. These always - NATURE busy little wrens by Paul will build their Stoutenbulgh nests in your garage or in your flowerpots or in your hanging baskets. The one we have this year built in our window box, right where she had built last year The interesting thing about this old unpublished article that 1 am going to print for you now is that it was done in 1953, in the early month of April, so you can see that these little wrens do not bring off just one brood but probably two or maybe even three broods of young during the season. So without saying any more, here is an article from my observa- tions in a handmade bird blind that goes back a long time ago to Moore's Woods in Greenport. "One of my biggest thrills was when I found the nest of a Carolina wren on the early date of April 25, 1953. There were four young practi- cally full -grown in the nest — so you can see how early these Carolina wrens must have started. Probably the early part of April they had to W V z W z W 0 V 0 o= cc a cc 0 cc 0 U_ 0 0 0 uL z U_ have started their family. It was cold and windy when we found this Carolina in the northern part of the swamp and, as luck would have it, we found her with a large beetle in her mouth, so we knew that she was probably feeding young. By sitting down and watching where she flew, through the various trips to and from the swamp, we located her nest on the ground, completely thatched over like a little igloo. It was about six inches in diameter, made of grass and what seemed to be strips of fine cedar bark. The center hole was about 1 1/4 inches across, but as the young grew the hole grew, for they were continually popping their heads out to receive food from Momma. I could not detect too much differ- ence between the male and female but I did not have too much time for observation, for as members of the wren family they were never standing still for very long. The wrens became quite used to me being about and would even feed the young when I stood 10 feet away. Upon completion of feeding, the male (I think it was) would fly on a branch and fill the swamp with song. What a beautiful singer he is — his notes overpowered the area around us. The particular triumph call that he had was a six- or seven -noted affair that I also heard across the swamp from another pair. Once you hear this familiar Carolina wren call, you'll never forget it. They also had a scolding note, rnic COUtnthy Chet i9ot,mattauck- Our Specials Change Daily Feel Free to Call Us! Ask About Catering for Your Next Special Occasion NEW Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. • Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. • Closed Mondays MAIN ROAD, MATTITUCK 298 -5960 Across from tillage Marine I� e Large variety of 111 Specializing 1 '1 seafood. R• Wholesale Located on Route 25 in Mattituck, opposite Waldbaum's. Open 7 days a week, year - round. 298 -4116 Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh This busy and noisy little Carolina wren can be found nesting most any time from April, when I found them In Moore's Woods, to August when we have a family being raised right now in our window box. something like the common Jenny wren or house wren, and another low chirp when they entered the nest to feed the young. This was always my cue to get ready with the camera, for when I heard this, sure enough Mr. or Mrs. would be along to feed. Blind right nearby I had my blind placed approximate- ly eight feet from the nest and watched the parent birds feed spiders, bugs, beetles and insects to the young in rapid succession. The nest was built in a very dark section of the swamp in which no sun at all seemed to get near the nest except in late afternoon. This, of course, made photographing quite a task. The feeding was very rapid in the morning when I got there, the parents often being back within a minute or two, but as they progressed and I imagine the hunger slackened, they came less and less frequently until at one time there was a definite 20- minute interval between feedings. When I tried to take these pictures I was by myself and therefore had to enter the blind right in front of the parent bird. (Normally if there are two people at the blind and one goes inside, the other walks away, and since birds can't count, they think the 1 a I f ' Wa11UHUn for the benefit of Robert L. Perry Day Care Center of rreenport Sunday, August 27 4:30 p.m. at Orient Beach State Park Call 477 -2931 for information and sign -up sheets. person in the blind has left.) But since I was alone, there was no deceiving Mrs. Carolina, for within a few min- utes after I entered the blind she came down, scolding as usual, and walked up to the bottom of the blind, tilted her head and poked it under- neath. Here we looked eye to eye and she seemed to say, "Who do you think you're kidding ?" At any rate I went along and tried to get some pictures in the poor light. They didn't mind my being there, for they often came within inches of the blind before hopping down to the nest. The approach to the nest by the par- ents is quite something to watch. They never fly directly to the opening but approach through the underbrush, popping up in front of the hole. I guess they're not taking any chances of some unwanted enemy observing them. There was no time wasted, for the food was jammed in the nodding mouths and then the parent was off. These birds also cleaned the nest by carrying away the young's waste. At one time I saw her drop her bundle of white about 25 feet away. It seems as if sitting in a blind the time would drag on, but time went much too fast and just as the sun was approaching high noon I had to leave for an appointment in New York. On April 30 I went back to the swamp in Moore's Woods and found the young gone but heard them about 600 feet in the swamp on their first outing." A faithful reader 1 received a letter this week from a young lady who once lived on the North Fork. She moved away but kept in touch through The Suffolk Times and is an ardent reader of Focus on Nature. She wrote me and said that one thing she wanted to do particularly on her vacation back here this summer was to visit Moore's Woods after reading my recent article about it. So, this old article about a Carolina wren nesting in the early month of April in the swamp in Moore's Woods is sort of dedicated to that young lady who has been following Focus on Nature over the years way out in Durango, Colo. 10A • The Suffolk Times • August 17, 2000 look back I thought it wouta be interesting to try something just a little bit different. We have a file called "unpublished articles,' and in this file are articles ,I have written but were never published. One in particu lar is rather timely in the sense that it is about Carolina wrens and we have a family of FOCUS them nesting right O N now at our house. These always- NATURE busy little wrens by Paul will build their Stoutenburgh nests in your garage or in your flowerpots pots or in your hanging baskets. The one we have this year built in our window box, right where she had built last year. The interesting thing about this old unpublished article that 1 am going to print for you now is that it was done in 1953, in the early month of April, so you can see that these little wrens do not bring off just one brood but probably two or maybe even three broods of young during the season. So without saying any more, here is an article from my observa- tions in a handmade bird blind that goes back a long time ago to Moore's Woods in Greenport. "One of my biggest thrills was when I found the nest of a Carolina wren on the early date of April 25, 1953. There were four young practi- cally full -grown in the nest — so you can see how early these Carolina wrens must have started. Probably the early "part of April they had to Carolina wren J This busy and noisy little Carolina wren can befound nesting mostsany time from April, when I found them in Moore's Woods, to August when we have a family being raised right now in our window box. lllll� have started their family. It was cold and windy when we found this Carolina in the northern part of the swamp and, as luck would have it, we found her with a large beetle in her mouth, so we knew that she was probably feeding young. By sitting down and watching where she flew, through the various trips to and from the swamp, we located her nest on the ground, completely thatched over like a little igloo. It was about six inches in diameter, made of grass and what seemed to be strips of fine cedar bark. The center hole was about 11/4 inches across, but as the young grew the hole grew, for they were continually popping their heads out to receive food from Momma. I could not detect too much differ- ence between the male and female but I did not have too much time for observation, for as members of the wren family they were never standing still for very long. The wrens became quite used to me being about and would even feed the young when I stood 10 feet away. Upon completion of feeding, the male (I think it was) would fly on a branch and fill the swamp with song. What a beautiful singer he is — his notes overpowered the area around us. The particular triumph call that he had was a six- or seven -noted affair that I also heard across the swamp from another pair. Once you hear this familiar Carolina wren call, you'll never forget it. They also had a scolding note, something like the common Jenny wren or house wren, and another low chirp when they entered the nest to feed the young. This was always my cue to get ready with the camera, for when I heard this, sure enough Mr. or Mrs. would be along to feed. Blind right nearby I had my blind placed approximate- ly eight feet from the nest and watched the parent birds feed spiders, bugs, beetles and insects to the young in rapid succession. The nest was built in a very dark section of the swamp in which no sun at all seemed to get near the nest except in late afternoon. This, of course, made photographing quite a task. The feeding was very rapid in the morning when I got there, the parents often being back within a minute or two, but as they progressed and I imagine the hunger slackened, they came less and less frequently until at one time there was a definite 20- minute interval between feedings. When I tried to take these pictures I was by myself and therefore had to enter the blind right in front of the parent bird. (Normally if there are two people at the blind and one goes inside, the'other walks away, and Isince birds can't count, they think the person in the blind has left.) But since I was alone, there was no deceiving Mrs. Carolina, for within a few min- utes after I entered the blind she came down, scolding as usual, and walked up to the bottom of the blind, tilted her head and poked it under- neath. Here we looked eye to eye and she seemed to say, "Who do you think you're kidding ?" At any rate I went along and tried to get some pictures in the poor light. They didn't mind my being there, for they often came within inches of the blind before hopping down to the nest. The approach to the nest by the par- ents is quite something to watch. They never fly directly to the opening but approach through the underbrush, popping up in front of the hole. I guess they're not taking any chances of some unwanted enemy observing them. There was no time wasted, for the food was jammed in the nodding mouths and then the parent was off. These birds also cleaned the nest by carrying away the young's waste. At one time I saw her drop her bundle of white about 25 feet away. It seems as if sitting in a blind the time would drag on, but time went much too fast and just as the sun was approaching high noon I had to leave for an appointment in New York. On April 30 I went back to the swamp in Moore's Woods and found the young gone but heard them about 600 feet in the swamp on their first outing." A faithful reader 1 received a letter this week from a young lady who once lived on the North Fork. She moved away but kept in touch through The Suffolk Times and is an ardent reader of Focus on Nature. She wrote me and said that one thing she wanted to do particularly on her vacatiw back here this summer was to visit Moore's Woods after reading my recent article about it. So, this old article about a Carolina wren nesting in the early month of April in the swamp in Moore's Woods is sort of dedicated to that young lady who has been following Focus on Nature over the years way out in Durango, Colo. 10A • The Suffolk Times • August 17, 2000 look back I thought it wouta be interesting to try something just a little bit different. We have a file called "unpublished articles,' and in this file are articles ,I have written but were never published. One in particu lar is rather timely in the sense that it is about Carolina wrens and we have a family of FOCUS them nesting right O N now at our house. These always- NATURE busy little wrens by Paul will build their Stoutenburgh nests in your garage or in your flowerpots pots or in your hanging baskets. The one we have this year built in our window box, right where she had built last year. The interesting thing about this old unpublished article that 1 am going to print for you now is that it was done in 1953, in the early month of April, so you can see that these little wrens do not bring off just one brood but probably two or maybe even three broods of young during the season. So without saying any more, here is an article from my observa- tions in a handmade bird blind that goes back a long time ago to Moore's Woods in Greenport. "One of my biggest thrills was when I found the nest of a Carolina wren on the early date of April 25, 1953. There were four young practi- cally full -grown in the nest — so you can see how early these Carolina wrens must have started. Probably the early "part of April they had to Carolina wren J This busy and noisy little Carolina wren can befound nesting mostsany time from April, when I found them in Moore's Woods, to August when we have a family being raised right now in our window box. lllll� have started their family. It was cold and windy when we found this Carolina in the northern part of the swamp and, as luck would have it, we found her with a large beetle in her mouth, so we knew that she was probably feeding young. By sitting down and watching where she flew, through the various trips to and from the swamp, we located her nest on the ground, completely thatched over like a little igloo. It was about six inches in diameter, made of grass and what seemed to be strips of fine cedar bark. The center hole was about 11/4 inches across, but as the young grew the hole grew, for they were continually popping their heads out to receive food from Momma. I could not detect too much differ- ence between the male and female but I did not have too much time for observation, for as members of the wren family they were never standing still for very long. The wrens became quite used to me being about and would even feed the young when I stood 10 feet away. Upon completion of feeding, the male (I think it was) would fly on a branch and fill the swamp with song. What a beautiful singer he is — his notes overpowered the area around us. The particular triumph call that he had was a six- or seven -noted affair that I also heard across the swamp from another pair. Once you hear this familiar Carolina wren call, you'll never forget it. They also had a scolding note, something like the common Jenny wren or house wren, and another low chirp when they entered the nest to feed the young. This was always my cue to get ready with the camera, for when I heard this, sure enough Mr. or Mrs. would be along to feed. Blind right nearby I had my blind placed approximate- ly eight feet from the nest and watched the parent birds feed spiders, bugs, beetles and insects to the young in rapid succession. The nest was built in a very dark section of the swamp in which no sun at all seemed to get near the nest except in late afternoon. This, of course, made photographing quite a task. The feeding was very rapid in the morning when I got there, the parents often being back within a minute or two, but as they progressed and I imagine the hunger slackened, they came less and less frequently until at one time there was a definite 20- minute interval between feedings. When I tried to take these pictures I was by myself and therefore had to enter the blind right in front of the parent bird. (Normally if there are two people at the blind and one goes inside, the'other walks away, and Isince birds can't count, they think the person in the blind has left.) But since I was alone, there was no deceiving Mrs. Carolina, for within a few min- utes after I entered the blind she came down, scolding as usual, and walked up to the bottom of the blind, tilted her head and poked it under- neath. Here we looked eye to eye and she seemed to say, "Who do you think you're kidding ?" At any rate I went along and tried to get some pictures in the poor light. They didn't mind my being there, for they often came within inches of the blind before hopping down to the nest. The approach to the nest by the par- ents is quite something to watch. They never fly directly to the opening but approach through the underbrush, popping up in front of the hole. I guess they're not taking any chances of some unwanted enemy observing them. There was no time wasted, for the food was jammed in the nodding mouths and then the parent was off. These birds also cleaned the nest by carrying away the young's waste. At one time I saw her drop her bundle of white about 25 feet away. It seems as if sitting in a blind the time would drag on, but time went much too fast and just as the sun was approaching high noon I had to leave for an appointment in New York. On April 30 I went back to the swamp in Moore's Woods and found the young gone but heard them about 600 feet in the swamp on their first outing." A faithful reader 1 received a letter this week from a young lady who once lived on the North Fork. She moved away but kept in touch through The Suffolk Times and is an ardent reader of Focus on Nature. She wrote me and said that one thing she wanted to do particularly on her vacatiw back here this summer was to visit Moore's Woods after reading my recent article about it. So, this old article about a Carolina wren nesting in the early month of April in the swamp in Moore's Woods is sort of dedicated to that young lady who has been following Focus on Nature over the years way out in Durango, Colo. 10A • The Suffolk Times • August 17, 2000 look back I thought it wouta be interesting to try something just a little bit different. We have a file called "unpublished articles,' and in this file are articles ,I have written but were never published. One in particu lar is rather timely in the sense that it is about Carolina wrens and we have a family of FOCUS them nesting right O N now at our house. These always- NATURE busy little wrens by Paul will build their Stoutenburgh nests in your garage or in your flowerpots pots or in your hanging baskets. The one we have this year built in our window box, right where she had built last year. The interesting thing about this old unpublished article that 1 am going to print for you now is that it was done in 1953, in the early month of April, so you can see that these little wrens do not bring off just one brood but probably two or maybe even three broods of young during the season. So without saying any more, here is an article from my observa- tions in a handmade bird blind that goes back a long time ago to Moore's Woods in Greenport. "One of my biggest thrills was when I found the nest of a Carolina wren on the early date of April 25, 1953. There were four young practi- cally full -grown in the nest — so you can see how early these Carolina wrens must have started. Probably the early "part of April they had to Carolina wren J This busy and noisy little Carolina wren can befound nesting mostsany time from April, when I found them in Moore's Woods, to August when we have a family being raised right now in our window box. lllll� have started their family. It was cold and windy when we found this Carolina in the northern part of the swamp and, as luck would have it, we found her with a large beetle in her mouth, so we knew that she was probably feeding young. By sitting down and watching where she flew, through the various trips to and from the swamp, we located her nest on the ground, completely thatched over like a little igloo. It was about six inches in diameter, made of grass and what seemed to be strips of fine cedar bark. The center hole was about 11/4 inches across, but as the young grew the hole grew, for they were continually popping their heads out to receive food from Momma. I could not detect too much differ- ence between the male and female but I did not have too much time for observation, for as members of the wren family they were never standing still for very long. The wrens became quite used to me being about and would even feed the young when I stood 10 feet away. Upon completion of feeding, the male (I think it was) would fly on a branch and fill the swamp with song. What a beautiful singer he is — his notes overpowered the area around us. The particular triumph call that he had was a six- or seven -noted affair that I also heard across the swamp from another pair. Once you hear this familiar Carolina wren call, you'll never forget it. They also had a scolding note, something like the common Jenny wren or house wren, and another low chirp when they entered the nest to feed the young. This was always my cue to get ready with the camera, for when I heard this, sure enough Mr. or Mrs. would be along to feed. Blind right nearby I had my blind placed approximate- ly eight feet from the nest and watched the parent birds feed spiders, bugs, beetles and insects to the young in rapid succession. The nest was built in a very dark section of the swamp in which no sun at all seemed to get near the nest except in late afternoon. This, of course, made photographing quite a task. The feeding was very rapid in the morning when I got there, the parents often being back within a minute or two, but as they progressed and I imagine the hunger slackened, they came less and less frequently until at one time there was a definite 20- minute interval between feedings. When I tried to take these pictures I was by myself and therefore had to enter the blind right in front of the parent bird. (Normally if there are two people at the blind and one goes inside, the'other walks away, and Isince birds can't count, they think the person in the blind has left.) But since I was alone, there was no deceiving Mrs. Carolina, for within a few min- utes after I entered the blind she came down, scolding as usual, and walked up to the bottom of the blind, tilted her head and poked it under- neath. Here we looked eye to eye and she seemed to say, "Who do you think you're kidding ?" At any rate I went along and tried to get some pictures in the poor light. They didn't mind my being there, for they often came within inches of the blind before hopping down to the nest. The approach to the nest by the par- ents is quite something to watch. They never fly directly to the opening but approach through the underbrush, popping up in front of the hole. I guess they're not taking any chances of some unwanted enemy observing them. There was no time wasted, for the food was jammed in the nodding mouths and then the parent was off. These birds also cleaned the nest by carrying away the young's waste. At one time I saw her drop her bundle of white about 25 feet away. It seems as if sitting in a blind the time would drag on, but time went much too fast and just as the sun was approaching high noon I had to leave for an appointment in New York. On April 30 I went back to the swamp in Moore's Woods and found the young gone but heard them about 600 feet in the swamp on their first outing." A faithful reader 1 received a letter this week from a young lady who once lived on the North Fork. She moved away but kept in touch through The Suffolk Times and is an ardent reader of Focus on Nature. She wrote me and said that one thing she wanted to do particularly on her vacatiw back here this summer was to visit Moore's Woods after reading my recent article about it. So, this old article about a Carolina wren nesting in the early month of April in the swamp in Moore's Woods is sort of dedicated to that young lady who has been following Focus on Nature over the years way out in Durango, Colo.