About the Cover…

Betsy Cross

The karst caves and rock outcroppings that line the dry creek bed at Jacob’s Well are home to one of our area’s most beautiful singers, the Canyon Wren.

We hear this bird more often than we see it. But if you move gently in the direction of its cascading song, you are apt to spot one flitting about in the rocks or creeping up and down the trunk of a tree, foraging for caterpillars, insects, and spiders.

On an early morning just over a month ago, I was lucky enough to spot not one or two of these birds, but a whole family of five newly fledged Canyon Wrens.

According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Canyon Wrens “set their nests in sheltered crevices in cliffs, banks, or small caves,” which makes the habitat at Jacob’s Well a perfect nesting site for this bird. Furthermore, they are well adapted to dry, arid environments. It is believed that they do not drink water but get all the water they need from their insect prey.

The young Canyon Wrens at Jacob’s Well were hopping in and out of the crevices, tasting this thing and that thing, exploring but not flying yet, and mostly just begging for food from their busy parents.

One fledgling practiced its rock climbing skills by hopping up and clinging onto a near-vertical sloping rock. Their ability to move along a sheer rock wall is made possible by utilizing strong short legs, long hind toes, and long sharp toenails to trace and follow cracks in the rocks, which I suppose is another adaptation to their chosen habitat.

The rich cinnamon-brown color and barred wing and tail feathers of this fledgling are easy to see in its pose on the side of a rock.

The Washington Post recently published an article entitled Why birds and their songs are good for our mental health. Experts in two research studies found that birdsong soothes our minds in a stressful world and can also be used in clinical settings to treat patients with anxiety or paranoia. The article concludes by discussing these ways to get the most benefit out of hearing birds in nature: Be Aware, Be Curious, Be Involved, Be Present.

For me, birdsong is like a living bell of mindfulness that evokes a deep gratitude for being alive on the planet. And photographing the birds is a contemplative exercise of curiosity and presence.

There are no nest boxes to check along the dry creek at Jacob’s Well, but week after week, I take the stairs down and walk the trail where the Canyon Wrens live. All birdsong is special, and all the wrens are prolific singers, but it’s the Canyon Wren’s enchanting song that stops me in my tracks every time.

How does the Canyon Wren compare to other wren species at Jacob’s Well?

Canyon Wrens are the only wren species that nest and live in the rocks and karst caves, but they are not the only wren species that lives on the property.

There are two other common species of wrens at Jacob’s Well, Bewick’s Wrens and Carolina Wrens. Both birds are year-round residents in the park, and both have used our bluebird nest boxes to raise their young. Bewick’s Wrens are especially common occupants of the Jacob’s Well nest boxes and have fledged 20 baby Bewick’s so far in 2023.

The photographs below were taken on the Jacob’s Well property. Click on any photo to enlarge it.

In April this year, I heard a fussy little brown bird in a brush pile under a dead oak tree at Jacob’s Well. It was a House Wren, uncommon on the property. The dead tree and its fallen limbs provided nesting cavities and excellent habitat for a House Wren. The bird behaved like a feisty parent, standing its ground and scolding me the way that wrens do when they perceive a threat to their eggs or their young. But Central Texas is not in the breeding range for the House Wren. No matter if the House Wren encounter was just an interesting coincidence of timing and behavior or a truly exceptional nesting event, it was exciting to add this new wren species to my Jacob’s Well watch list.

How does the Canyon Wren compare to other wren species at Jacob’s Well?

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