Slave!

Yes I am not ashame to say I am a slave. My masters are a pair of small Caroline wrens. How did I become a slave, well it started the winter before last. I sit out on our carport when it is not to hot or to cold or the bitting bug don't drive me in, watching my flowers, the birds and playing on my lap top. I saw mealworms on a web site and desided to get some. There is a wild bird store not far so I went and get 500. I placed some in a small dish on a table about 5 feet away from me. It was not long before the tiny brown bundle of energy found them. Man it is surprising how many worms they can put away.

In a couple of days I had to go get more, 1000. This time I placed a second dish on the table beside me. It was not long before they were coming to the second dish.
One day one landed on my finger as I held the dish. Another I felth something hopping up my leg and when I looked down there was a wren looking back at me

Summer came , along with the babies and 10,000 mealworms a month. I started ordering them online.

When did I realize I was a slave, well I get low on worms before my next payday and started cutting back on how many I put out. One morning a wren flew to the worm feeder hanging about 10 feet from me and looked for the worm, no worms. She then flew over landing on top of the screen of the laptop and looked me streight in the eye. She stood there about half a minute before she flew away. Then like a good little slave I get up and put more worms out for her and went in a borrowed money from my mom to order some more worms.

We have gone through about 15,000 worms this month. Becouse not only I am feeding Mrs wren and her mate and the third brood this summer but cardinals, titmice, and mockers. They are also getting braver and now do not mind me sitting near by.
Oh well. I better go out and check to see if there are enough worms from my masters.

They've got you well trained!!

Resin

Hey, Wren!

Oh, yeah, we've all been there! Can't relax in the morning with that first cuppa whatever, because the mamas and daddies are frantically searching the empty container on the patio....sitting on a small limb staring at us.

Can we go fishing for the weekend? Well, sure. But our conversations always come around to 'what are the bluebirds doing?'... 'without'... 'wonder if the hummingbird feeders are empty yet?'.... 'think we ought to just pack up and go home?' Kinda takes the joy out of a relaxing weekend....During the winter, we swear we spend more feeding our wildlife than we do ourselves.

Yep. We're all slaves to our birds, but we've done it to ourselves, haven't we? For the enjoyment it gives us. Mother Nature has programmed all of our feathered friends to get along very well without us. We just can't get by as well without them...........

oops! It's almost sundown and the bluebirds are waiting! Gotta run......

THat is a great story wren. Certainly belongs in the "you know you're a bird nut when…" thread.

I would LOVE To see pictures of this! Perhaps you can find a willing photographer!

They do train us well! I am in panic mode that the suet will run out before I get more...and I feel guilty that I have had to cut back on the peanuts due to raising cost!

I found that most of my bird including the wrens and woodpeckers like peanutbutter.
suet in the south in the summer is inpossible!
Put the peanutbutter on a slice of bread or make up a batch of peanut butter and cornmeal till stiff. Other birds like Mocker, cardinals, some wablers, titmouse and chickadees also love the peanut butter

Nanny, don't feel bad. They have plenty of sources for food right now. Save your $$ for the winter.

I cut back on feeding anyway, not very many birds. And what I do put out, I don't feel bad about because i enjoy the birds.

:D

Now I have peanut butter! Thanks

Great. Now I'm going to have to share my breakfast, too! They don't like coffee do they?

I don't drink coffee but have seen them eyeing my ice tea.

OH the small(Hairy or Downy too much trouble to keep tying to find out which) wookpeckers will start to fuss at me if there is not peanut butter on the bread. They do not tough the bread.