Fairy Wrens

Our garden is a haven for these tiny characters and they never fail to warm my heart. In Spring the delightfully small, mouse like birds start exploring the garden for food. Crowds hop across the lawn, never still, never stopping in their quest for hidden delicacies. A newly turned patch of ground is a fairy wren's smorgasbord.

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Their distinctive call is part of the garden orchestra. Their excited shrill lets us know they are about, busy being busy. As the days get warmer they are even more active. Petite shades of grey revelling in the warmth of Spring and the abundance of food. 

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Slowly, oh so slowly, I notice a tinge of blue on a tail and I know the seasonal game is about to begin. As the boys get bluer, they get more self assured and strut around the garden like a dandy in a Jane Austen novel. These balls of blue fluff take the time to stop and pose as if to say, 'look at me' and the jennies are quick to oblige. A particularly brilliant 'blue' often has an admiring entourage.

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Slowly they pair off and we start to see blue and his mate darting round looking for food together. Many a morning I have laid in bed and watched them dart in, on, off and around the deck, finding scraps on the ground. The dog's bowl is always a source of delight.

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The nests are built, well hidden away, and then one day our couple appear with their young and they all start the excitable dance of charging around on the grass looking for food. The young are only slightly smaller than mum and dad, but just that little bit cuter nevertheless. Dad, his job done, stops being quite so blue and we are back to shades of grey again.

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I can (and do) spend hours watching the antics of these special birds.There seems to be safety in numbers and they invade the garden en masse, always on a quest. They will often hang out where I am gardening and make me stop in my tracks to enjoy their beauty and enthusiasm.