Wren on Alert

I found a Carolina Wren.  Wrens are among my favorite birds and this one was particularly active. Turns out he was defending his nest.  But his behavior was interesting to watch and observe.  Before I tell you why he was on alert, let me wax poetic on bird behavior.  I am constantly amazed by bird behavior.  This little bird, smaller than an robin, was causing a real cacophony of noise to alert and distract others.  Other birds flew in as well.  Willow Flycatchers, Grackles, Cardinals, and other wrens came to check out the noise.  This would have made it more difficult for a predator in the area to go unnoticed.  As you may have guessed, I was not the predator, but there was danger.

People were being loud, throwing garbage and rocks about the site.  They were the danger.  Of course people have caused any number of problems for birds, global warming, habitat loss, and other things.  But these people were down right stupid.  Harassing animals shows a real disrespect for the rest of the natural world.  I am still pondering how can people, anyone, treat others in that way?  I have no good answer.  I take a little solace in that when I showed up, the said people left immediately.  When we do something simple as care for the world around us, we make a little better.  Then we can work on the next steps...