A friend on Greely Road extension just photographed an Eastern Towhee at her feeder!
At our house in Cumberland Center in the past two days we have at our suet downies, hairies, pileateds, sapsuckers, red-bellieds, and now a flicker!
David Gulick
On Dec 24, 2024, at 8:04 AM, 'Alex Barker' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Very interesting, and news to me! I love wrens, but they don't strike me as kingly!Mary Lou in SullivanOn Dec 24, 2024, at 3:23 AM, maine-birds@googlegroups.com wrote:--
Sean S <therefromhere168@gmail.com>: Dec 23 08:47PM -0500
Those with an interest in European anthropology are likely familiar with
"The Golden Bough" by Sir James G. Frazer, first published in 2 volumes in
1890, later revised and expanded by its third edition in 1906-1915 to 12
volumes with a staggering 5,000 pages total. Frazer was the first modern
scholar to document pagan folk traditions of the British isles and
continental Europe, from ancient Greece and Rome up until their remaining
practices that were still ongoing in some rural European areas into the
late 19th century. Anyone who's seen the classic folk horror film "The
Wicker Man" (the 1973 version with Christopher Lee, not the awful Hollywood
remake starring Nicholas Cage) may see where this is going. I promise to
get to the birding part shortly...
"The Golden Bough" is considered to be the cornerstone of modern
documentation of European pre-Christian folk traditions, comparative
religion and pagan magical practices. It directly inspired poet Robert
Graves' seminal 1948 study "The White Goddess", as well as dozens of works
you can find today in your local New Age book store today. In "The Golden
Bough" Frazer thoroughly examines the lore of the "King of Birds", which
happens to be the Wren (species) found throughout Ireland, the British
Isles and other areas in Europe, and whose related folk practices center
around the time of the winter solstice, especially St. Stephen's Day (Dec.
26). I'll let Gemini handle the in-depth explanation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The "Hunting of the Wren" is a traditional custom observed in Ireland,
particularly in Leinster and Connacht, around St. Stephen's Day (December
26th). It involves the hunting and killing of a wren, which is then
displayed on a pole and paraded through the community.
This practice shares similarities with other European traditions, such as
the "Fête du Roi de l'Oiseau" (Feast of the King of Birds) in Carcassonne,
France, and similar rituals described in James George Frazer's seminal work
"The Golden Bough." These rituals often involve the symbolic killing and
revival of a sacred king or animal, representing the cycle of the seasons
and the renewal of life.
It's important to note that the "Hunting of the Wren" has faced criticism
in recent years due to animal welfare concerns. Many animal rights
organizations oppose the killing of the wren and advocate for the
preservation of this tradition in a more humane and symbolic way."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like the still practiced Gloucester, UK annual Cheese Rolling event (where
crazy people break bones running down a steep rocky hill after a large
wheel of cheese, an ancient tradition seemingly tailor-made for YouTube),
in ancient times a symbol of the sun), the Hunting of the Wren is likely a
remnant of pre-Christian Druidic practices.
The relevant birding part (for those bored and annoyed with the rest of my
post):
We had a Carolina Wren today in Hiram, which discovered the suet block and
shelled peanuts and seemed to have a great time exploring the yard, coming
back again and again to feed. We've had others here in the past at various
times of the year, but those only made brief appearances. This one really
seems to like the feeder station, so who knows, maybe it will still be
around on Dec. 26 and camera hunting will continue the tradition.
Winter Wrens are also great to see this time of year, if you're lucky
enough to be out in the woods when one pops up.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, splendid solstice, etc.
Sean Smith
Hiram, ME
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