Nestbox news: What a whirlwind!
The last couple of days have been a whirlwind, mostly for the Wren babies. At some point yesterday I noticed the babies were constantly screaming but I did not see a parent feeding them. I went through the videos and did not see them there. As I was doing yard work I kept an eye on things. Then in late afternoon, a baby fell out of the box. I contacted a rehabber for advice and eventually took them all out of there. I put them in a box with tissue while I tried to figure out where to bring them. There are few rehabbers in the area and I also heard that due to Avian flu, many are not taking birds in at this time. Wild Wings in Detroit agreed to take them, all I needed was a ride. (They accept donations.) Now I did have a camera team from Local 4 over here today, and since they went back to Detroit anyways, they agreed to bring them in. I am so glad they are safe now and super thankful for the wonderful Local 4 team. This was a turbulent couple of hours. Local 4 came for a little segment that will air in September, I will let you know closer to the date.
In other news, Gayle laid her second egg this morning. The Wren guard is on even though I am not sure I still need it with the adult wrens gone. I have no idea what happened to them, they never returned to the box.
Nestbox news: Hatch day for the House Wrens
The Wren babies are hatching today. So far, four out of the six eggs have hatched, and one bird has removed the top shell that was sitting on one of the unhatched eggs, so that one can safely hatch as well. Interestingly enough the female has not eaten the shells like I usually see with the Bluebirds. The nice side effect is that the male seems to be more busy feeding the kidlets now than obsessing over the Bluebird box or finding another girlfriend (not a single visit at the BB house today!).
It is so cute how the Wrens make their little noises when they bring food. I hope they stay that busy. (The BBs still train the babies survival but they have been coming back more in the last two days, so hopefully they will be more present for a third brood soon.)
Nestbox news: Deco matching the walls
The House Wren has laid egg six this morning. She has been adorning the nest with feathers that she found around the property, and I like how her color choices match the walls.
The box is also a 6 inch diameter PVC box and I added two holes in Bluebird size and use a shrout with different hole sizes to adjust the box when necessary. The two holes provide better air flow and in the case of Bluebirds, might help the birds to escape a House Sparrow attack.
Come good into the weekend!
Nestbox news: The wreturn of the little terror
I have’t posted an update in a bit, so today is a good day. The babies are now 11 / 12 days old. Their eyes are open and their feathers are coming in, They grow by the minute thanks to Gayle and Mr. Business feeding them pretty much constantly. I was surprised to see them even feeding them mulberries but I was glad to see it too because the weather has been very hot and the mulberries I guess provide lots of moisture. When the last baby was 7 days old, I took the Wren guard off the box. It is recommended to take it off between day 5 and 10 after hatching. Then, the babies are big and heavy enough so that the Wren does not pose a threat anymore. Well, and yesterday, the Wren returned to check out the box. I edited the video a bit to make it shorter, but the Wren pretty much got in, tried to poke the babies and on the second try actually tried to yank one out. Thankfully, the baby was big enough so there was no way the Wren could finish the deed. The Wren in the other box has laid egg 2 by now. I hope that somehow between the Bluebirds fledging and Gayle starting nest 3, the Wren brood will keep them so busy that they don’t venture out again to check for nests. I will of course attach the Wren guard again too and hope it does it’s magic a second time.
We did more gardening this weekend,
also because there isn’t a lot of bird activity going on because everybody is either incubating or taking care of very young babies. For a change, I did put a camera on the ground because I wanted to see if I could get photos of one of the adorable Grackle babies that have started to show up. And I was lucky. As you can see, they are very demanding, but Grackles are excellent parents and will dutifully feed those pink lined beaks. As always when there’s a camera on the ground, some squirrels also came by. This one had such a hilariously smug look on his face that I included him here even if he is out of focus.
In nestbox news, Gayle is incubating her five eggs and learned how to handle the Wren guard, and the Wren has surprisingly laid an egg the other day in the other box. I had kept removing sticks to keep the Wrens busy but they apparently were more determined than I anticipated. She has three eggs as of today. Interfering with an active nest of a native bird is illegal, so they can do their thing now. Hopefully, the Wren guard on the BB box will continue to work and all will be well. The Wren chose the two-holed PVC box with 6 inches in diameter. Since other birds keep exploring that box as well, I have added a hole reducer so that only Wren size can enter. Here’s to a good week!
Nestbox news: Oh yes!
Yesterday was the day, Gayle started her second brood, and added another egg this morning. As soon as the egg was laid, I put a Wren guard on the box to keep the tiny destroyers out of there. It is like a visor for the nextbox that hides the entrance hole from sight, so that the Wren does not see it and thus, will not explore it and destroy eggs or babies. Since the BB has an egg in the box, she is bonded with it and will overcome any possible fear of the guard. Only the BBs know that there is a nest there, so it gives a bit of safety. We will see how that goes. The BBs have one advantage - they have at least four of their first babies around that can possibly help to defend. The guard will stay on the box until the babies are about 5 days old. Then they are too big and heavy to be drug out by the Wren. And here is a pic of two of the first babies with Dad at the feeder!
Nestbox news: Ready for round two.
The babies have fledged on May 14, and in the last few days, the parents have started to bring them back to the yard to introduce them to the feeder and amenities. At the same time, Gayle has started to build another nest. During the time after fledging, a Bluebird box is pretty much left unattended and thus, vulnerable to other birds claiming it. A House Wren that is nesting in the area has discovered it and explored. And two nights ago, went in and started tossing the newly started BB nest. All night I was trying to think about what I could do. Then in the morning, I watched this scene going down. First thing in the morning, the Wren came back, but this time, Mr. Business saw it and took care of business. Gayle continued to build afterwards, and the Wren has not returned. As soon as she lays her first egg, I will install a Wren guard, which is basically a visor for the box that disguises the entrance hole from view. Theoretically, only the BBs know it is there. Since the Wren was already in, I have no idea if this will work, so I have to hope for the best. But the whole family is around, including three babies (that I saw so far) who stay close by the box and will hopefully defend it.
Nestbox update - House Wren
After no adult bird came to feed the Wren babies for almost 24 hours, we thought and pondered all day and then took them out the nestbox and brought them to a rehabber (Wild Wings in Hazel Park, they will be happy about donations, it is how they finance their good work). They were nine days old yesterday, not ready to fledge. The day before, the parent had fed them almost every 5 to 10 minutes, then suddenly nothing. The camera takes videos when there is motion or sound. It did not malfunction and I checked the clips as well as the livestream regularly to make sure. I did not want to see the babies die in the box, and I think waiting until the next morning would have sealed their destiny.
No adult bird has returned to the nestbox since. There are strong little birds and I hope they make it. Birds have a rough life, and unfortunately it happens that baby birds lose their parent/s too soon. The good thing is that there are licensed rehabbers who will take them in and care for them until they are ready to fledge.
I hope I get some updates. Be well, Wren babies ❤️
Another nestbox update
Dr. Clara laid her first egg of brood 3 this morning and Lady Corleone is diligently incubating her clutch of seven. Meanwhile the yard is starting to fill up with bird babies, yesterday I saw a Cardi feeding a youngster, they seem to have two. I hope they go and visit the cameras too! The birdbath is a good point to watch right now too, the baby Orioles and Grosbeaks like it a lot. I am still waiting for the second clutch of the Bluebird babies to come to the yard too but that should also soon happen. Things are picking up again finally!
Wren update
While the Bluebird babies have grown and started to fledge, the House Wren has gotten comfy in her nest and enlarged her clutch. This morning, she laid egg number six. It is possible that she does another one tomorrow, but then she should be done.
Video: House Wren cleaning up and starting nest
The "Starling-proof" Flicker box that we built and hung did not attract the species it was designed for, so I decided to change things up a bit and hung the Troyer that I built in that spot. I saw a Downy checking it out and packed it tightly with wood shavings in case she wanted to excavate a roosting spot. Then, a differently looking beak showed up and started to get to work. A House Wren! It started taking the shavings out, one by one, hyperactively, and now has begun to bring sticks in. Wrens have nested in that spot before and I am happy to see them back. I don't want to tinker with the door to restrict access to larger species now, so we will have to see if the Troyer style works out. At least with the camera I can monitor precisely.
Video: House Wren building nest
We put a hole restrictor on the Flicker box a while ago so that only small birds like a Wren or Chickadee could get in. It looks like a Wren found it accomodating.
We will see if this turns into an actual nest or just a mock nest.
I am looking for the little surprises
when I go through the photos each day. There are many factors that determine who I might see. Time, placement of the camera and the kind of feed are some. Today, I played around a bit. And I got Mr. Meow, the Catbird who I now decided is my favorite bird this summer, a young Redwinged Blackbird whose markings I loved, and a House Wren that would refuse to be in focus or in full frame.
There is still not much happening
but this curious and tired looking Wren checked out the camera yesterday. Unfortunately the bowl was empty, but I put it in the same spot today, maybe I’ll get a clearer picture.
Video: House Wren checking out nestbox
This morning, a House Wren inspected the Flicker box. It is a huge box that is filled with wood shavings, but the Wren has nested in something similar before, so I would not be surprised if it happened again. Let’s hope it doesn’t just build a mock nest in there.
Nestbox camera: The House Wren is back
For several years now, a House Wren has raised broods in a nestbox that we made with the intention to get woodpeckers to nest in there. It is quite a mansion for such a tiny bird, but they seem to like it. I am excited to see how things progress.
