A Chip off the Old Block

The Carolina wren on the right was banded by Cornell’s NestWatch program in 2016 (band #2741-54604). Although sex was indeterminate at the time of banding, his nonstop singing and territorial guarding of his turf soon indicated he was a male. He is a daily visitor to our feeders. We call him Randy. On the day this photo was taken, Randy’s latest brood had just fledged from a nest located in our potting shed which, try as we might, we were never able to locate. We did, however, witness Randy and his mate entering the shed through a gap in the roof with food offerings (including peanut splits!) over a period of about 2 weeks.