Being Shouted At

I have come to know the little fan club of birds that live around our croft.  They follow the person who feeds the hens – it is totally cupboard love.

The other afternoon I noticed there was someone outside shouting loudly so I went out with my camera to see who it was.

Hopping about the place was a wren.

Well, I think it is a wren – please correct me if I am wrong and I will amend this whole blog.

Here in Shetland, we have our own species of wren – Troglodytes troglodytes zetlandicus.

The call was not the usual beautiful trilling wren birdsong.

Oh no. It was more like being shouted at or similar to the rapid fire of a machine gun.

And this little wren, for one so small, is loud, very loud.  I can hear him (I shall henceforth assume he is a he for not reason except I will be 50% correct!) when I sit at my desk inside the house.

Monster Cat is not about (he is busy asleep) and there are no other predators about so I am not sure what the wren is shouting about.

He shouts while everyone who would eat him is indoors.

But shout he does.  Endlessly.  To no one about nothing.

The wren is very tame too and certainly not running away from the noise of my camera or the sight of me trying to creep around the garden looking inconspicuous.

Bloody noisy little bird, though.

I hear him most days.  I wonder what he is shouting about.

6 thoughts on “Being Shouted At

  1. Margaret Robinson

    Maybe he/she is looking for another of it’s kind, has lost a Mum, or just likes the sound of his/her own shouting. Perhaps he/kshe wants to come inside where it’s warm and there’s always a bit of really good food to nosh on!

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  2. Bob

    From the shape of his/her mouth, I would say it is a young one still looking for someone to shove food in his/her mouth and down the throat…??!!
    Best guess..

    Reply
  3. m. Colleen McNamara

    Great pictures. My sister who is a bird nut. Life list and all that stuff. Says the noise may be for a variety of reasons. If they haven’t begun to breed yet (although by USA standards it is a bit late) he is announcing his availability. Or he has found a great nesting spot and is trying to tack down his territory. Or if he has a mate who is incubating eggs he is warding off potential rivals??? OR he is just trying to make up for his small size. Enough said.

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