Notes from Field and Study 



165 



We f'^iJiid 1 Ik- I<c(| lj(,-lli(-(l VV'>o<lj>(,'ck(,T 

 very f](.-sl.ru<,t.iv(; lo our oranj^cs, boring; 

 holes in bot,h green and ripe fruif.; but tlie 

 most remarkable thing of all was the 

 tameness of what to us had hithe-rto be-e-n 

 the shyest of all birds, vi/,, the Hermit 

 Thrush. JJere he was so tame that he 

 would hardly get hom under our fee-t, 

 while we had hithert<j known him only in 

 his Adirondack home, where hi; could 

 seldom be heard ;jnd more rarely seen. - 

 Wm. M. S'J'iJ./.MAN, IHainJidd, N. J. 



Wrena in Our Garden 



Several years ago, we hung a gourd in 

 our syringa bush. The door was just the 

 the size of a sil ver dollar, to let in Wrens and 

 keej; out J*>nglish Sparrows. 



'i"he first sj>ring it was left empty. Th<; 

 second, when blackened by wint(fr and 

 coal Sfjot, a pair <;f J^;wick's Wrens took 

 possession, and raised two broods that 

 summer. 



The rnan <;f the house says that li(;- 

 wick's Wren has the spring-iest song he 

 knows. 



While feeding their young, the old birds 

 seemed vi-.ry tame, and went back and 

 forth to the nest when we were sitting 

 only three or four feet away. 'J'hey rarely 

 flew fjirectly to the nest, but lit on a tall 

 branch above, and then climbed down as 

 if going down a ladder, '/'here were seven 

 in the second brood. 



We were so pleased with this success 

 that, in the fall, three more gourds were 

 hung. But alas for our hopesi When 

 spring came again, .Mrs. Wren came back 

 to her old apartments, threw out the old 

 nest, played around for a few days, then 

 left for parts unknown. 



Some House Wrens moved in and stayed 

 a few days, but they too left; so we thought 

 we should have no Wrens this year. 



Two of the gourds were hung in vines 

 on the house. July 5, a pair of Jfouse 

 Wrens moved into one of these, and for a 

 day or two seemed about to build a nest. 

 After that we could not be sure whether 

 -VTrs. Wren was there or not. The nest 

 was too high, but we heard singing 



and s( (>|(|i)jg ill (he garden, ;iiid liop<-d 

 she was. 



i''in;j,lly, e;i.rly one morning, l he '>ld on<:s 

 were seen fee-ding I he brood, .\flcr that 

 tiiey kept things lively in the g;irden. It 

 was amusing to see the old birds come to 

 the nest. 'J'hey never (lew slr;i.iglit to it, 

 but usually hoj)j>ed along the garden walk 

 to thi; fence j>ost, and climbed up ihe post, 

 flying from ihc- lop to a pcf h above it, 

 tlien to the edge ';f the nest. They ni:v<;r 

 once missed lighting on the edge; of the 

 hole until the little ones got big enough to 

 poke their heads oul in the w;),y; th<;n a 

 (>erch was put up for iIktu to rest on 

 while feeding. Both birds were in sight 

 when the perch was put u)>, but they did 

 not seem to mind, and Hew right upon it ;js 

 if it had ;),lways b<;en fhere. 



In t(;n days th(,' little brood was go;ie, 

 and w(,- exj>ected to see no more of t}i(; 

 Wr<;ns. During lh<; hot weather we had 

 our suj>j*er in the garden. One evening, 

 as we sat at suj>per, a House Wren came 

 over the fence, scolding noisily. To our 

 great surj>rise, he fl(;w right into a gourd 

 in the syringa bush, one never used for a 

 nest. Sinc<: then w(; have frequently seen 

 him g'j to roost there, b(;tween six o'clock 

 and lialf ]>ast, and do not doubt that he 

 goes i:yi-:ry night. Once he brought anoi her 

 Wren; hoj^ped into the ^onrA, ho|>j>cd out 

 again, all the time chirj^Ing in a soft j>er- 

 suasive note new to us. Hut no, she would 

 not go in, and he flew off with her. 



Once he went in without any noise, but 

 usually he chirj>s loudly, as if he said; 

 "Look at me! I'm going to bed!" 



Now w(; are wondering how many gourds 

 will have nests this sj>ring. \a/:/av. A. 

 Lyjj',, Ij'.xin^lon, Ky. 



Winter Robins in Wisconsin 



January, in Wisconsin, broke all records 

 for cold, and the winter as a whole has been 

 efjualed or exceeded by (;nly five winters 

 in the forty two years that the weather 

 records have been kept. .Against this 

 chilly background it is interesting to 

 place the Kobin reconl of the winter. 

 Robins were reported from over thirty 



