The Wren In the Pen

Bow asked to go outside for the second time this morning. I think he already knew what I did not yet know -- that there was a small bird, a Carolina wren -- trapped inside the outer pen. I went in to get a container to trap it in, grabbing the closest thing handy, a trash can with a plastic bag for a liner. When I went back out to the pen, I kept the door to the airlock open, so the wren could fly in to safety. Bow had such an intelligent look on his face, as he held the door open for me and the wren.

We closed the door on the wren once it got into the airlock, with Bow staying in the outer pen, but with me indoors. However, the wren favored the space between the sliding glass door and the iron grated door. Bow watched me deal with the issue of how to catch it, and he remembered the trash can that was still in the outer pen with him. He went to get the trash can, though I already had gotten a tupperware container from inside.

Even though he was on the other side of the grid from me, Bow was very involved in the process of catching the wren. He had gone back to fetch the trash can and was holding it and seemed eager to use it to help catch the wren. Meanwhile, I was trying to get the wren to move out of the small space between the glass door and the grid and to move into the inner recesses of the airlock, so I could close the glass door.

I got the glass door closed and was getting ready to trap it in the tupperware container, but it flew up again.

Eventually I was able to catch the wren. I showed Bow that I had the wren trapped in the container, but he was too busy pretending that he had caught a bird in his trash can.

I released the wren in the front yard, and it flew away.

After I had set the Carolina Wren free in the front yard,  I came back to let Bow in from the outer pen.

He came in cradling the trash can, as if it were the most precious thing in the world to him! You can watch all the clips together as a single sequence in the video below.

A Bird in the Pen

A tiny bird somehow found its way into the outer pen yesterday afternoon. This happens every once in a long while.

Bow felt the need to chase the bird around and even to display at the tiny intruder.

I asked him not to hurt the bird, but he seemed to be trying to catch it.

The bird managed to avoid  Bow.

Eventually, it sought refuge in the indoor airlock,

There I was able to trap it in a tupperware container. And then I released it safely outside on the front porch. It flew away. End of story.