Carolina Wrens Nesting-Pix

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Thanks for posting this, BorisKitten. Lucky you. We had swallows nest in our carport one year -- I loved watching them. Being from the west, I didn't know what the Carolina Wren looked like so I searched for a photo in case anybody else wondered, too... fat little bodies & curved bill. Cute. I hope they do well.

Aw, aren't they cute? I think this is the same pair, nesting every year in our carport. They eat insects... I've never seen one at our bird feeder.

One year I was lucky enough to see a tiny baby fledge!

They have such a loud song it can actually wake ME up.

Thanks for the grown-up picture!

You're welcome. I hope that everything goes well. Please keep us informed.

Is that Boris as your avatar? He probably adores having such an interesting thing going on in his domain.

Yes, that's the "real" Boris Kitten. Boris doesn't like to go outside, believe it or not. He thinks it's scary. He'd rather I carried him around on my shoulder so he can look out the windows.

I have 2 other cats who do go outside, but so far they haven't been able to reach this "wren shelf" in the carport!

We're having some repair work done to our front porch. Yesterday the carpenter removed a large board and found an old dove's nest. (unoccupied) It was HUGE...about 18" across! I've never seen one that big.

Every so often during the winter I've seen Carolina wrens eating black oil sunflower seed and commercial cakes of suet.

I was camping in Florida last month and was greeted by a wren that landed right next to me. It actually ate some tiny pieces of bread, which seems to be the universal food, even for birds. A trio of red-bellied woodpeckers were also very interested in bread.

I've always liked the perkiness of wrens, which along with the chickadees, are some of my favorite birds to watch.

Aha... we pretty much always feed the birds black oil sunflower seed, all year long. But heck, if there aren't enough bugs for birds to eat here in a Florida swamp, well, there just aren't enough bugs... oh, wait...

Boriskitten--

In this neck of the woods, most bugs are seasonal--and black fly season is coming up, nicely timed to offer a vast buffet to the migrating songbirds when they arrive.

I've never tried to feed these wrens. I wonder if they'd like bread?

I've heard Red-bellied Woodpeckers will eat out of one's hand, but I've never tried it. Ours seem very tame, and have been eating from our feeders for over 6 yrs now. We also always have Chickadees and Titmice, both great fun to watch.

And Cardinals! Mr. Kitten was sitting by the feeder yesterday (evening), counting the Cardinals... in the mid-20's, he said. Tons of Cardinals, and they stay all year long.

Anyway I spied Mrs. Wren sitting on her eggs today. She just sort of looks at me, as if so say, "Yes?"

Oh, and speaking of brave birds... the Florida Scrub Jay is by far the most "begging" bird I've ever seen.

They're rare, but I used to see them often in Oscar Scherer State Park in Sarasota county. They'd positively chase me down until I found something to feed them. Darned cute little things.

I love my house wrens and Bewick's wrens, but they forced me to turn up the white noise machine. Their unique song reverberates through the trees, but they start a little too early in the morning...
Both varieties of wrens eat peanuts and Woodpecker mix from my backyard feeders.

Aw, darn it! I checked the nest just today, and it's empty! I missed the little baby Wrens!

I still hear the Wrens singing, so they're around here somewhere, but I was hoping to post little baby Wren pix....

Oh, man. What a bummer.

We have a couple that builds in the GARAGE every year. I can't miss the babies 'cause, though Mom knows how to get out through the little space at the top of the garage door, the babies can't figure it out. I always have to go out and open the door for them so see the daylight and head that way.

After a couple of days, they know what to do, and eventually they stop coming back. I'm pretty sure it's the same Mom since it is always on the same shelf.

I have a Birdy question
Hi, I am in a hurry I thought it best to email someone. I have what i think is a Carolina Wren nest on my back porch. It is a safe place for a nest, high and highly protected. The screen to the door is long since gone and thats how the mother gets in and out. There are 3 white/tan eggs in the nest and the nest has like a tunnel, does that sound right? I saw the mother bird but I'm not sure if it is really a wren. She laid her eggs about 2 days ago and I was curious as to how long it will be before they hatch. I also set out some bread, which i think she ate. Will she move her nest, am i being too intrusive? I don't want to scare her away because I really like animals, but i was just curious...
Thanks for your time,
~Stephanie
If anyone can help me plz email me at [email protected]

Uh-oh... I was hoping someone would answer you Steponme. SOmeone who knows about these kinds of wrens. I'm from the west coast -- we have wrens but not this kind. Our wrens are scrappy little buggers & will scold anyone who comes near their territory.

I can tell you that bread is not considered a great food for birds. Seed, usually black oil sunflower seed, is best. Also, suet blocks.

As to being intrusive... don't peek in the nest and stay as far away as possible. If the birds do come around, hunker down and don't look directly at them.

We once had swallows nesting directly above our front door and the male would become irate when we used that entrance. He had a really mean look and could just about hover at eye level, I think he just did a sort of stall. His threatening stare was enough and we'd sneak off, cowed. Yikes.

Good luck. Come back and tell us how it is going, 'K?

(Welcome to a2k, too... first post!!!!)

I stay at Oscar Scherer a couple of times every year. I heard that scrub jays are there, but then I talked to somebody who said they are common enough there and will land on your body if you stand still. There are signs in the park warning against feeding the animals, especially the scrub jays, which, I imagine, most people ignore because they like the jays so much.

Next winter I'll make an effort to seek them out.

Wrens are insect feeders, but I think they will take suet. However, most birds are opportunists and will take food outside there normal diet, e.g., seed eaters will rarely turn down an easy insect meal; they're loaded with protein. And hummingbirds, which we think of as nectar feeders, include insects as an integral part of their diet to obtain protein.