A Bewick's Wren in Nesting Season

Bewick's wrens have a distinctive, trilling song. The version I've heard most often is "WHEE-ooh-WHEE-EE-EE-EE," but there are many patterns.

In Santa Cruz, where I became a birdwatcher and photographer, I heard Bewick's wrens sing almost daily from the redwood outside my bedroom, and from the willows and oaks of Neary Lagoon, where I took walks to think or birdwatch. However, like all wrens, they are somewhat shy, and they flit about, never staying put for long. Despite my best efforts, for a long time I only got to appreciate these wrens through their song, and could scarcely catch one in my binoculars, let alone take one's picture.

My luck changed on April 17th, 2024, which is smack in the middle of breeding season for many bird species. On my usual walk through Neary Lagoon, I glimpsed a Bewick's wren as it zoomed away from a sheltered bench to a stand of trees on the other side of the path. I got a shot of its long, speckled tail, but no more.

A few minutes later, it came flying back to the sheltered bench, then hopped up to the crossbeam of the shelter's roof. I realized that its nest must be there, looked under the corner of the roof, and found the nest -- but not before the wren had flown away.

This was my chance. If I staked out the nest, I wouldn't just get a picture I'd been coveting for months; I'd get an action shot of the bird bringing food to its babies. I backed up as far as I could while keeping the nest in view, sat down, and waited.

Before the wren came back, a herd of kids on a field trip came parading down the path. I got one teacher's attention and told him I was waiting for a shy bird; he graciously offered to keep the kids away from my stakeout until I was done. The children ate their sandwiches some distance away, and I continued my vigil.

After 15 or 20 minutes, the wren returned. I saw him bring first a spider, then a caterpillar to the nest. While the angle to the nest was so extreme that I couldn't see the babies, they must have been there: the treats were gone in seconds.

As I was checking photos on the camera, one of the children came up and very politely asked what I was doing. I told him I was taking bird pictures and gave him a look through the viewfinder. He went off to tell his friends.

Before long I had seven or eight kids waiting their turn to check out the pictures you see here. That felt good. Maybe one of them will become a birdwatcher!