Carolina wren nesting on my front porch
What a crazy mama wren, to pick a nesting spot so close to our front door, putting her nest in a high-traffic area several times a day. She’s tucked it among the Texas sedges planted in the pot. See the round opening?
And here she is, sitting tight, waiting for me to pass, not moving a muscle. See the white stripes above her eyes? The other day I got a glimpse of 4 tiny eggs while she was off the nest. I look forward to the cheeping of chicks soon.
Update 4/12: The wren is gone and her nest is empty, with no sign of hatched eggs or predator damage. The only thing we can think of to explain the missing eggs is a snake. A Texas spiny lizard could also have gotten them, but we feel sure that the nest would have been disturbed in the process and eggshell would be visible nearby. I’m sad for the wren.
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Well isn’t that wren like. Better than a bike shoe in the garage! Anyway as I discovered last year they don’t sit on the eggs until all 5 are in the nest. One a day until they are all there. So they all hatch at the same time.
Wrens love to nest close to a house. I have a birdhouse next to the front door. She loves it. Last year it was a hanging basket just out side the back door. I friend had one last year to nest in a wreath on her front door. I just love them and they have the sweetest song of just about any bird.
Aren’t they the most entertaining little creatures.
The wren and family are going to be so fun to watch. She must have picked that spot to be a worldwide celebrity.
Pam, How sweet~can’t wait to see the nestlings. gail
How fun! She must know you haven’t got an outdoor pussycat. “My” Bewick’s wrens have been nesting way up in a palm tree, under the fronds. 2 nests for at least the past 2 years. I’m hearing a lot of squirrel activity in that tree this spring so maybe the wrens will go elsewhere. Darn.
They are the funniest birds to me! Lucky you get to watch the process…. I posted my borrowed idea from you today….
Don’t you love it when you discover something like this? 🙂 I had a little wren build a nest in the frost blankets of my greenhouse this past fall. Unfortunately, she abandoned the nest before the eggs hatched :/ They are such cute, entertaining and LOUD birds for being so small. But I, too, love watching them.
Birds sometimes build nests in the craziest places. I don’t keep wreaths on my door during spring or summer for this reason.
GREAT photo of the wren looking into the camera. I didn’t see her at first. But WOW! That’s really something.
Very nice. Remember not to water! LOL
I’ve set up some old bike helmets this year and I’ve hung them on the walls of my garden shed. They filled the old helmets with nests last year, so I obliged them again. Sadly, they’ve picked another venue. Wildlife must love you.
David/ Tropical Texana/
I agree, they can build their nest in the strangest places. My little wren built her nest in a pot on my potting table. So I’ve had to find another place to re pot my plants. Stranger still, I had laid a small sprinkler on top of that pot. I guess she felt better with a roof.
you are so lucky! first the little owl family, now this sweet, fearless wren! we got to watch a mama wren (a very vocal marsh wren) build her nest in the reeds of a local sanctuary in irvine, ca. always such a treat!
One year they made their nest inside the birdfeeder, another year inside a porch light cover that was on the porch floor; and this year, inside my milk jugs with seedlings in them, but I removed the nests quickly before they could lay the eggs..I was afraid they would overheat or suffocate…they are soooo darling.
How sweet! I didn’t see her until the close up photo. very cool indeed –
We have had what I expect to be the same pair nesting each spring in a new location. It is so fun to see where they go each year. I can hear the babies screaming for something to eat.
Poor babies, poor mama.~~Dee
I peeked yesterday & saw 3 tiny eggs. Hopefully soon I will hear the peeping of babies.
A pair of wrens built a nest in one of our flowerpots, but after sitting on the eggs for a couple of days they abandoned the nest. The eggs were kicked out of the nest onto the dirt (still in the flowerpot) undamaged.