He wakes me each morning

We have a pair of Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) in our garden.  I said “a pair” since they always arrive together at the suet or the seed feeders.  From what I have read, they are monogamous and stay together all year round.  The male sings lovely songs and very loudly for such a tiny bird.  I can hear him from the other side of the house when I’m in the garden.  They are fun to watch as well.  The white stripe over his eyebrows make him look like an elderly and wizened sage.

They roost in our woodpile on the patio which is good for us since they pick off any insects they can find.  They even wiggle into any small gap in between folds in the pool umbrella (when it’s closed) to look for insects.  We are grateful.

Having him roost in the woodpile posts one problem.  He likes to sing very early in the morning as well,  just outside our bedroom window.  I can still hear him clearly even with two panes of window glass between us.  It’s nice to have him wake me up most of the time but when I want to sleep a little bit longer I’m ready to tear the woodpile apart.

I didn’t think too much of it until I mentioned it to one of my colleagues today.  She came from South Carolina.  As soon as I mentioned how cute and helpful the wrens are.  She promptly said she hates the birds.  “Their songs are very nice.” I told her.  “Yeah, wait until you have a whole bunch of them.” she snapped.

That made me think, if one male wren is this loud…..  having a whole bunch of them would be like being awakened by a fire alarm, wouldn’t it?