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 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 ❤️
Hatch day for the House Wrens
Yesterday, the House Wren babies have started to hatch. It was interesting to see how the female was taking the egg shells out rather than eating them. But maybe she ate some and threw some out because seven eggs make a lot of egg shell. In the video, you see her tossing out two shells and then you also get a glimpse of the teensy babies. Since they built the whole structure so well, lighting in the box is a bit murky but hopefully things improve a bit once the babies get bigger. I think that so far, all but two eggs have hatched. I am curious to see if the babies will keep them busy enough so that the male loses interest in the BB box. So far, he has not returned with any sticks. The BBs are still around too. They feed their babies from brood 2, and at least the male checks by the box regularly.
Nature can be cruel.
This morning, Dr. Clara laid her third egg and despite the extreme heat, things looked great. However, at 9 pm, a House Wren went into the BB box, pierced all three eggs and threw them out. I am not sure what is going to happen now but I am heartbroken, tbh. This has never happened in the five years I’ve been doing this, and it feels like this season is cursed. I will think of solutions, and the nestbox that is currently occupied by the Wren will be removed once the babies have fledged.
If you want to learn more about the impact of House Wrens, I recommend sialis.org.
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.
A happy Father's Day
to all the fathers and father figures out there. Sir Corleone, the House Wren, has now good chances to be one soon too. Lady Corleone has graced the nest with a first egg this morning. She will now lay one per day until her clutch is complete. As you can see, they have been obstructing the view a bit but things are always in motion, and maybe it improves over time. Observations so far - they are still vocal even if they have mated now, and one of them spends the night in / at the box even if they are not incubating yet.
Video: The House Wren has been diligently constructing the nest,
and I am so intrigued by witnessing the whole process. He builds something like a little fortress, with ladders going all the way down to the nest. Here, you can see him adding spider egg sacs. There are several theories about why they do it, one is that the spiders will help with mite control, another that they are purely ornamental. I have decided to call him Sir Corleone because "Lion Heart", "cor leonis" is one of the names that has been attributed to these fierce tiny birds in the past. He is a strong singer, and I am excited to see if he can attract a female.
Finally,
Finally, a Hummingbird on camera today! And a male to boot. They are so different this year. Very few, and the ones that I do see are super skittish. They go to a feeder, hover and check and then take off. We have some flowers but not a ton this year, things are still emerging, so I don't know what is going on. I am happy to see them every now and then but this is nowhere near previous years. Second pic I think is a House Wren. They seem to think the camera boxes are nestboxes 😂
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.
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.
