Say that ten times, fast! I enjoyed an entire morning in my own backyard, and was completely entertained by this Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus).

Carolina Wrens always seem so happy. They sing and sing and sing. Anyone who has watched them can attest to the fact that they bounce and turn as they sing, as if singing is pure joy. They are bubbling over with energy and you can’t help feeling cheered by even just the sight of them.

This is one bird that you get to look “down” for, instead of the usual, neck-breaking upward gaze needed for many birds. This wren is right at home amongst the drying remains of my neighbor’s tree trimmings, which I asked him to throw over my fence. I have already rebuilt my “bird lounge” out of limbs, and have numerous other projects in mind for the rest of it. Am I a dork for thinking that playing with twigs is fun?

It wasn’t until I took this series of photos that I learned something new about wrens, or at least THIS wren. Along with all of the happy, bouncy singing, it winks a lot. And blinks. I have taken quite a few pictures of birds in rapid-fire sequence, and I have never had so many with the bird’s eye closed or half-closed. Matter of fact, it is rare that I capture a bird in a photo with its eye(s) anything but wide-open. Interesting.

NOTE: The maps for birds represent the breeding status by state and province. In some jurisdictions, the subnational statuses for common species have not been assessed and the status is shown as not-assessed (SNR). In some jurisdictions, the subnational status refers to the status as a non-breeder; these errors will be corrected in future versions of these maps. A species is not shown in a jurisdiction if it is not known to breed in the jurisdiction or if it occurs only accidentally or casually in the jurisdiction. Thus, the species may occur in a jurisdiction as a seasonal non-breeding resident or as a migratory transient but this will not be indicated on these maps. See other maps on this web site that depict the Western Hemisphere ranges of these species at all seasons of the year.

Endemism: occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations¹ Acknowledgement ²

I’ll close with sharing all of those winky-blinky photos – enjoy!