The wren has a knack of keeping out of sight
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SOME of my wildlife photography is so close to home, a wide variety of subjects have been captured in the garden or acre paddock.
I have photographed roe deer coming in to take apples, herons on the pond below my study, butterflies and moths, the occasional dragonflies and, of course, badgers.
Over the years the subjects have varied, but there is one bird that has always eluded me and yet it one of the commonest and most widespread birds in Scotland, let alone the UK. If I was to say there are eight million breeding pairs in summer in the UK and no less than 1.5 million in Scotland, I wonder just how many people would know which bird I meant?
One clue is that it is one of the most widespread of birds and has a sub-species of its own on several islands, including St Kilda.
It is the tiny wren that at only 9 to 10 centimetres long, is one of the smallest birds emphasised by the dumpy appearance.
Numbers in the garden have varied and the bad winter weather a few years ago took its toll. Studies down south have shown in very poor winters, up to 80 per cent can die although if it is followed by milder winters, then wrens seem to recover very quickly.
Such was the case a few years ago and for two or three years we had no wrens in the garden, but now they seem to be back to their former numbers as they seem everywhere. Everywhere, that is, apart from an image on my camera.
To say the wren is elusive is a massive understatement. They nest every year in the garden, two or three pairs, and yet I have never seen one of their characteristic domed nests.
That is despite the fact that the male builds five to eight of them and then the female decides which one she is going to use. Yes, she is that fussy.
So I tried virtually carrying the camera and big lens around with me, or at least keeping them close to hand when I was scribbling in my study.
I kept on seeing wrens, sometime close to, but, as always, they were forever on the move, either that or the camera was not to hand.
Then there was an interesting development as I put out a very small bird table only about a foot wide near the study window.
Every day I put out a mixture of suet balls, sunflower hearts and mixed seed on that tiny space.
The house sparrows just loved it and would pack in, but were occasionally interrupted by a blackbird.
The last thing on my mind was wrens but I suddenly started realising that every so often when I looked at the new bird table only a few feet away, a wren was around. It never went on the table and my theory was that it was attracted by the activities of the other birds. Whatever the reason the wren would be foraging around the table near the study window.
So on a few occasions I stood there with the camera at the ready waiting for the wren. Needless to say, it never appeared when I was just stood there ready.
Then one day last week a male house sparrow appeared on the bird table and it had quite large dark throat markings so I decided to photograph it. I had taken a few shots when out of the corner of my eye, guess what was to be seen? A wren foraging along the wall and creeper near the bird table.
I extended the big lens and then captured a few shots before the wren was away. It was with bated breath that I looked at the image on the camera and here was not only a wren in fine pose, but even with that characteristic tail cocked.
How I wish it could have been planned rather than by sheer luck but, whatever, the result was satisfying for me.
