Friday, June 14, 2019

Being Welcomed Home. . . . . . . . .


We flew in from Dublin to Philadelphia Wednesday evening - a smooth 71/2 hour
crossing of the pond, done so many times now I've lost count - then a short flight
 to Raleigh.
It started to rain as we made our way home by taxi, but rain is what we are so used
 to after almost daily showers and the somewhat foreboding low cloud cover daily.
Ireland's weather is not for lovers of warmth, balmy sunshine, dry days and
 clear blue skies. Here it is halfway through June and no sign of days when one
 can leave off the hooded rain jacket and not stuff the collapsible umbrella into
 bag or pocket.

Ireland is beautiful, greener than any other place on earth perhaps.
 More on all that and the loveliness of the countryside, the towns, even
 the cities of Dublin and Belfast, soon. The trip was certainly a busy one
and we saw/did so much as always. 


So this is front porch, as usual a surprising little space. Arriving home to noisy
 squawking as we unlocked the front door, we realized the House wrens were
 back with a second brood of young in the same hanging box!





You know how much I love our garden birds, gosh sometimes I feel we spend
 more money feeding them than ourselves! We have never encouraged this particular 
tiny bird as they can be very mean to other nesting birds - pecking their eggs
 to destroy them, even flinging newly-hatched babies out of a nest and taking over
 their space.

The above photos I took this morning (pardon my dirty dining room windows) as the
 parents were back and forth feeding their new brood.
Note the long twig protruding from the entrance hole. The parent is apparently
 using it for balance. I read that this particular bird does often leave one twig
like this after building its nest, so I guess that's the reason why.


These earlier photos were taken the morning we were leaving for Ireland and this
 is actually a baby wren, one of five, we saw fledge all within a few minutes - great
 timing and really quite exciting to view.
Certainly didn't expect them to return to the same place even though it's usual
for them to have two broods each spring. Guess they liked their accommodation!
This decorative box has actually hung here at least three years and this is first time 
it has been used by any bird.



Not to be mistaken for the quieter, better behaved Carolina wren, the House wren 
though similar in size and coloring, does not have the white stripe over the eye so
is easy to identify. Their brash chirping is quite annoying and nowhere near as 
sweet as the songs of the Carolina wren.

Once again I've arrived home feeling under the weather - a miserable cold/cough
which hopefully is not another bout of what we now call "the European travel bug",
that one which hangs on for weeks and drags one down. Last day in Dublin I felt
 something was going on so started taking meds which obviously didn't work.  
At least I can't blame the recycled air on the plane this time.

Hope to catch up with everyone soon. . . . . good to be home.

11 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're home and safe, though sorry about your cold!!! I would love to visit Ireland and Scotland one of these days...not sure it's in the cards though, I'm not a good flyer!!! Plus Alex and I are pretty much in the nesting phase of life now! :) The bird photos are great! What a nice welcome!

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  2. Great bird photos.The weather here in North Wales has been dreadful this last week.Non stop rain.One of our friends had his daughter and granddaughter over from Australiaa for a week and it has been old and wet.They had to go and buy warm clothes.!Such a shame.

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  3. As soon as I saw your pretty blog header, I felt the peacefulness of the photo collection.
    And your wren photos -- what a great catch in such a pretty little bird. Birds are such gifts to us, aren't they?
    Sorry your beautiful trip ended with a cold. At least you're home in your own bed. Hope you will feel better right quick.

    Wishing you a beautiful weekend...
    Brenda xox

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  4. Welcome home! Feel better soon .... photos are amazing!

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  5. So pleased that you have both arrive home safe and sound following all of your travels - gorgeous photos of the little House Wrens - it is really interesting the way that Mr. Wren is supporting himself on that twig whilst balancing on the perch and also using his tail too.
    I have read somewhere that if you use a Vicks First Defence spray at the first signs of a sore throat or tickle it suffocates the virus and prevents it developing. Whether or not it is true I do not know, but I thought it would be a good idea for me to buy one to have at hand especially when travelling.

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  6. Mary, your photos are amazing, so clear and precise. What a joy to come back to those little birds!
    Glad you are safely home now.

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  7. Welcome home! So sorry to hear you're sick again. Love the bird photos!

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  8. I'm pleased to read that you've arrived home again and are tucked into your own space. These are amazing photos of the wrens, especially of the parents feeding the little ones. We've been busy around here, too, with a new grandchild that decided to appear a bit earlier than expected.
    I hope you feel well soon, Mary.

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  9. Welcome back, Mary! I hope you get rid of the "travel bug" soon.
    Your garden is a paradise for birds, they wouldn't breed there otherwise. Lovely!

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  10. How exciting to find this on your return home.
    Hoping you get well quickly from a very bad cold.

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