There was a bird war going on in our backyard this spring between a family of sparrows and wrens over a nest. We liken it to the frustration of losing the last spot in a crowded parking lot to the driver ahead of you.
Each year, a painted gourd made to house a wren family is hung on a metal pole in our yard. I am told it was specifically built for those chirpy little creatures, each of which, our bird book informs us, is about 4-inches long and weighs about 1 ounce.
Each year it is the male wren who builds the nest as a method of wooing the female by showcasing his ability to establish a snug home. The strong-minded bird focuses on his task, piling small tufts of grass and bits of sticks into the gourd. At times, it struggles to insert larger sticks into the nest and although it often fails in that task, it seems determined to push a 4-inch stick into the gourd.
The bird’s desire to get this nest building done is one thing, but his courtship is not limited to the first pretty female he spies. In Mr. John Wren’s world the chase is always on, and any Miss Jane Wren will do.
This year, however, the wren colony was late in arriving and a house sparrow checked out the gourd, saw that it liked it and started to create its own nest. Unlike the fickle-hearted wren, Mr. Sparrow often picks a mate for his 2- to 5-year life.
It was only a matter of time before a wren showed up, looking for a home and that is when this crazy conflict between the birds began.
While the sparrow was checking out the neighborhood, the wren began to dismantle the nest, dropping small sticks or tufts of grass to the ground.
The wren flew off and shortly thereafter the sparrow returned to find his house in a state of disarray, may have thought he didn’t do something he assumed he did and quickly began rebuilding his once snug home.
This has been going on for nearly two weeks. Sparrow builds the nest and flies off. Wren arrives and begins to demolish what it sees.
Over the weekend the issue was decided in the wren’s favor as it was busy both demolishing what was left of the sparrow’s nest and building its own abode, little stick by little stick. The sparrow was elsewhere, fleeing the coop, so to speak.
We’re number four!
Pardon us for boasting about something in Park Forest. In last week’s Daily Southtown, Olivia Stevens reported that the village’s water was selected as the fourth best in the state by judges at a tasting contest held in Peoria.
The town of Paris was rated Illinois’ best, followed by a plant serving both Roscoe and McChesney Park, two communities near Rockford, The city of Normal was third.
The honor has a downside, however.
Rod Ysaguirre, the village’s public works director, was quoted as saying while Chicago and numerous south and southwest suburbs use Lake Michigan water, Park Forest uses mineral-rich water from underground wells filtered through its own treatment plant, for which local residents pay nearly $22 per 1,000 gallons, compared to $4.89 for lake water for the same 1,000 gallons
All this brings to mind the proposal by former village Mayor Jon Vanderbilt who, when he first ran for village trustee, thought Park Forest should bottle and sell the water it gets from its wells.
Which also reminds me of the time someone told me how he enjoyed drinking Château Lafite Rothschild, a fabulous French champagne. I asked, “how good is it, really?”
“I’ll tell you how good it is,” he replied. “It’s $300 a bottle.”
Jerry Shnay, at jerryshnay@gmail.com, is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
