House Wrens and Broken Eggs
The nesting wrens were doing well and working towards laying eggs. Here is a shot of the female(I think) who protects her territory from anything including me with a camera. She is a very active little bird and very vocal.
They had packed the nest box with all sorts of leaves, sticks, pine needles and other stuff. I checked periodically but they hadn't yet laid eggs. One morning this weekend, I noticed the bird box wasn't hanging up. It was on the ground and the glue had given way that was holding the top with the loop to hang the box. When I picked it up, I noticed two little wren eggs inside. The female was close by and very upset. I placed the nest on top of my compost tumbler to get it off the ground and away from potential predators.
Later on, I went to check on the nest box and I noticed the eggs were smashed on the ground. The female had probably disposed of them. I have seen and heard the wrens still in the area so hopefully she will lay more eggs. It is still early in the season and wrens do sometimes have two broods so we'll see.
Update: No new eggs yet in the nest box and I'm starting to wonder if they might have changed locations. That is not good news for the other cavity nesting birds around since House Wrens are known to take nest spots and dispose of the eggs/hatchlings that are inside. It's just amazing that this little cute birds is so aggressive.
Here is part 1 if you missed it. Happy Birding!
They had packed the nest box with all sorts of leaves, sticks, pine needles and other stuff. I checked periodically but they hadn't yet laid eggs. One morning this weekend, I noticed the bird box wasn't hanging up. It was on the ground and the glue had given way that was holding the top with the loop to hang the box. When I picked it up, I noticed two little wren eggs inside. The female was close by and very upset. I placed the nest on top of my compost tumbler to get it off the ground and away from potential predators.
Later on, I went to check on the nest box and I noticed the eggs were smashed on the ground. The female had probably disposed of them. I have seen and heard the wrens still in the area so hopefully she will lay more eggs. It is still early in the season and wrens do sometimes have two broods so we'll see.
Update: No new eggs yet in the nest box and I'm starting to wonder if they might have changed locations. That is not good news for the other cavity nesting birds around since House Wrens are known to take nest spots and dispose of the eggs/hatchlings that are inside. It's just amazing that this little cute birds is so aggressive.
Here is part 1 if you missed it. Happy Birding!
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