We were having breakfast on Saturday morning when our attention was drawn to a dead tree fern stump.
The day before I had cut back all our ferns including those growing around the base of the tree fern stump.
There was some activity that involved the stump and a palm growing close by.
A wren was busily browsing the tree fern stump for nesting material.
We quickly grabbed cameras expecting our subject to have disappeared by the time we had our cameras at the ready.
As expected the wren had disappeared but soon came back, only this time he was browsing at the back of the stump with only his tail visible.
I was confident that this was a male bird as it is the male that starts work on the nest. At this stage, the female isn’t involved.
Anyone who has tried photographing a wren will appreciate that they flit around and are quite challenging to photograph.
The best way I’ve found is to set the camera on a rapid burst which I did having first focused on the top of the fern stump.
I ended up with dozens of images but I could quickly sort through and pick out the best. Martyn was taking a video which he will post when he has had a chance to do some editing.
The thing that surprised us the most was where the wren was taking the material. He quickly disappeared into the nearby palm tree.
The photo below shows the location but I’m afraid the bird disappeared very quickly into the centre of the palm so he is only a blur.
Male wrens build several starter homes and the female selects one before lining the nest to make it cosy. Our little wren may end up with more than one female as he is – like all male wrens – a bit of a gigolo. We will just need to wait and see whether the palm tree is a chosen site.
How lovely to see a wren so close to. As you say they flit about so much it’s difficult to get a good look at them.
The camera is always a good device for seeing things that are difficult with the naked eye, Margaret
Great photos of wren making a nest, Sue. Please add Google translator to this blog. Thank you.
Done it Nadezda – I put the wrong sidebar on some of my posts
Those are great pics of the wren! It is amazing to see nature at work. Our wrens sometimes build ‘decoy’ nests in the greenhouse. I have never seen the female actually lay eggs in those, though they will use our wooden nest boxes.
I haven’t seen any more activity for a couple of days, Dave
What super photos you’ve taken!
Thanks Debbie
That’s a great tip for getting a lovely photo of these flitty birds – thanks. What pleasant viewing for breakfast time!
It’s certainly the only way that I photograph wildlife Belinda, Even slower moving you can get a different look or tilt of a head,