Bug Patrol~

Aug15

The Holler is quite buggy so it is most helpful for this little guy to catch both the spider and the spider’s catch all in the same web!

Rock Wrens are diligent feathered bug catchers.

They are always hunting and eating.

Rock Wrens are year round residents at The Holler and they are the only species in their genus, Salpinctes.

Rock Wrens are glorious songbirds whose music fills our days. Click to hear their vocalizations:

Cheers to you from The Holler’s hungry, musical and industrious wrens~

175 thoughts on “Bug Patrol~”

  3. Is bird song the only natural music?

    I’ve been thinking about human made music lately and how it seems unique in all the features of being a creature of the world.
    Humans do all the same animal things: move, watch, eat, drink, mate, whine, grunt, sleep, sit quietly… But music, modulating tonal sound, is unique to us.

    The only near example seems to be bird song.

    If a mockingbird can listen and copy another bird’s song, does that qualify as “making music”?

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  5. When I saw the title of your post come across my email, I didn’t know what to expect! My husband and I could have used those fellows this morning when we took a walk in a nature preserve and got swarmed by mosquitoes.

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  8. Such a variety of sounds. I would love to have rock wrens around here. We have other kinds of wrens (Bewick’s) but we don’t have rock wrens. I like the fact that they’ll eat spiders. Great post, Cindy. This is a new bird for me.

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  9. How wonderful to hear and see this Rock Wren. So small and yet they can sing with such strength and beauty. I am amazed at the variety of his songs and sounds.
    A wren here is the smallest bird and so sweet. It easily fits in your hand.
    Thank you, Cindy.

    Miriam

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  11. What a beauty and he almost looks as though he came to life from inside a rock by the coloring of his feathers. I love these photos, Cindy. Thanks for including his song too. ♥.

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  12. What interesting and lovely birds! I didn’t know till now that there exist Rock Wrens… Here in Germany we have very little wrens that live in the woods. They are very small but sing wonderful and enormously loud.

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  13. You have an amazing ability to capture the essence of nature through your lens. You reminded me of my time in Northern Manitoba where the black flies would swarm around us when we went camping or on long hikes. They became our constant companions. Hot tip: never where perfume going into the bush.

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  19. You build a house, stock it with food, and just when you think you’re safe and secure… BOOM! Your whole world crashes down upon you.

    I can relate to the spider – lol!

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    • Thank you Marlene. I hope you are doing well too. I am watching my twin baby grandsons three days per week now while their parents work remotely, so I don’t feel isolated. More tired! 😉 დ

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      • I get the fatigue. Little ones wore me out when I was young. At my age, I couldn’t do the babysitting more than an hour. Twins are two hands full. 😉 But what joy it must be seeing them every week to watch the changes. Miracles that they are bring so much joy. Glad mom and dad get to work remotely. My daughter lives with me and does the same. We are staying well and extremely happy. Hugs.

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        • Ah, I am happy to hear your daughter is with you. This is the time for family to be together. The twins are a continual joy to be with and I can devote 100% of my attention to them which is nice დ

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  27. What a sweet sounding little bird. All creatures have a part to play in nature’s balance. Man has somehow fallen from the path, and now only takes from nature.
    Jeep loves this! She’s having a nice little bath listening….. waiting!
    i’m quite smitten with the look of this wren. Thanks for the pics, Cindy!

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  34. Hey Cindy, how are you?

    I caught quick glimpse of your wonderful photographs before retiring last night and had to pop back for a closer look. They are absolutely delightful: so descriptive, there is such clarity in the detail. You have a natural aptitude for wild-life photography: an ability to capture the intrinsic nature and indispensable quality of your subject. It’s always a pleasure to view your work, thank you for sharing.

    Your photographs prompted a short poem….

    How sweet the song of his sound,
    That Rocky Wren in feathered gown:
    Speckled beige, dappled brown,
    Busy, busy flitting around: The Holler
    Is his feasting ground.
    ~
    In luck today: upon his reel –
    A new menu with bug appeal,
    A webby-threaded meal-deal:
    ‘Main course Spider with Crane Fly sider’,
    Two-for-one, what a steal!

    ~*~

    Stay safe and well during these unprecedented times. Take care of one and all 🙏

    DN

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  39. What a beautiful and varied sound the wrens make. Thanks for sharing your lovely images as well as the YouTube.

    As an aside, I found it quite hard to pick some YouTubes that identify bird sounds – people often made running commentaries while they’re filming which totally spoils their video.

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  46. This is truly a fascinating event of nature you captured for us. You don’t see too often a bird catching a spider and an insect in one picture. Have a great Sunday, Cindy!

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  49. What little sweeties — useful, too! We don’t have them here, but I enjoyed seeing and hearing them from The Holler. Thank you, Cindy!

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  59. It’s amazing how quick birds can be. The other day I was walking and observed a large bug buzzing about in the air. Suddenly a bird swooped in mid air and the buzzing stopped. In a blink!

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  62. They look and sound quite different from the ones I get in my ‘jungle’… Here they are more brownish – and I miss that funny sound they make like an alarmclock without the bells going off… 🙂 Cousins, I guess… 😉

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