I have to say, at this point in September, this is probably the least stressed I have been for many a year. Don’t get me wrong, there is still plenty of fretting going on now, but NOTHING like the norm. Long time followers of Intrigued know we plan our year around our annual Haunted Trail event. This is a 363 day work effort as we get two days off to actually hold the event ha. The usual date for that event is THIS weekend and I am usually an absolute mess by this time – up for days, physically and mentally spent. Fortunately, it is something we absolutely enjoy putting together every year or there would be no way we would put ourselves through this. This year we had to push the event to mid October thanks to my punk-ass ankle. Sure, there is some lack of sleep and we are in the haunt labs from sun up through the witching hours, but the real worry days are still a week away. Those are the days when I wonder Wren I am going to get any sleep…
Hit the jump to see more shots of a featured feathered friend that shares my blood shot eyes.
Truthfully, there is one area that is causing a bit concern and it isn’t related to anything that goes bump in the night. I happened to glance at my post count the other night and realized we were down posts from our self-inflicted monthly quota. A big thank you to our friend in Texas who graciously checked in on us concerned by our low production this month. Life managed to get in the way, but we are slowly getting past some unexpected issues that came up and Brad and Jan are getting ready for an incredible adventure which is sure to generate numerous intriguing posts (hint, expect several species that have never been featured before on this wildlife blog!)
While I had a few spare minutes, I wanted to jump on and chip away at that quota deficit (also gives my lungs a break from all the toxic foam fumes swirling about the haunt lab as of late ha). You probably caught my play on words earlier related to sleep – yes, this is a member of the Troglodytidae family – more easily referred to as the Wrens. There are eleven members in this family with ten of them being resident in the US. The Eurasian Wren is the outlier which if you do the math correctly means it is the only Wren found beyond the Americas.
The Pacific and the Eurasian happen to be the only Wrens that I have not had an encounter with – I will have to check with Brad to see if they have spotted those on their jaunts out west and across the pond. Always fun when the Intrigued family can check an entire bird grouping off the life list.
Here in the Midwest, we have easy access to the House (we ignore the new name), Sedge, Marsh and Carolina are fairly easy pickin’s. We ended up having a brood of Carolina’s near our house this year which just about put me in a mental ward with their constant chatter the split second a ray of light hit our woods. From time to time a Winter Wren will drop in as well, but in all honesty, the fun Wrens are all out west and fortunately in the same areas we spend our winters.
This particular Cactus Wren was spotted on our January trip through Arizona back in 2024 (I promise I’ll get to some more recent outings once all the props are put back in storage). My favorite of the family has to be the Canyon Wren, however, the Cactus is a close second. I believe it is the largest of the Wrens and definitely one of the more feisty ones. Get too close to their nest and you will get a nice up close look at their blood red eyes – probably more than one pair as they like to call in the rest of their biker gang members to give you one hell of a verbal thrashing.
Fortunately, this specimen was more interested in hunting the shoreline than taking it out on us snowbirds.
Much like their Wren brethren, the Cactus is quite the squawker. Beyond audio clues, this species is willing to give you some good looks at it compared to the other small Wrens that tend to hang out in the underbrush or employ other means to deflect attention like sprinting from one rock or cactus to another. This combination of boldness and size means you should know rather quickly if one is hanging out near you – especially in Arizona. My first encounter with one was on that January trip. I was incredibly excited about getting that species checked off my list and spent a significant amount of time learning its markings, noting preferred habitats and kept my eye on the eBird reports so I didn’t miss it. Little did I know the “Bison Principle” would come into play. In case you are not familiar with that concept, it is when you transition to being super excited about a particular animal and then end up encountering it so many time you get absolutely bored with it.
First visit to Yellowstone NP: “Look, look, everyone, there is a Bison over there, come see, hurry, hurry!!!”
Second day at Yellowstone NP: “Hey, there are some Bison over there”
Third day at Yellowstone NP: “Will you damn Bison get out of the middle of the road so we can go see Wolves”
Fortunately, the Cactus Wren isn’t big enough to block roads so I still took the time to grab a few shots on every encounter.
I should probably note that this series was taken at Canyon Lake near Mesa. I highly recommend taking a drive up there if you are in the area. Linda gets full credit for discovering this absolutely beautiful setting as she noted it on the eBird app while we were looking for a place to spend the remaining daylight after a run through the Superstitious Mountains. Be aware, they do require a parking sticker if you want to user their pull-offs and picnic areas. Being limited in our use, Linda just drop Ron and I off to go explore while she took the pups to a public parking area. As far as the bird itself, I have covered the backstory on the Cactus Wren in previous posts (link here for one) so I’ll let you go while I get back to the haunt lab – oh crap, pretty sure I just heard a clown voice coming from there.
Take care everybody – apologies again for limited availability these next few weeks, but I truly appreciate all your comments and promise I will respond as soon as I can. Oh, almost forgot to mention – I met with the ankle surgeon today and he says everything is looking good and allowing me to start transitioning out of the boot and into a brace – around the house at first and then easing into it full time. It has been 10 long weeks and now feeling like the worst is behind me. Big thanks to all your well wishes – it really kept my spirits up!
Life Intrigued 