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.
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 😂
