Bird of the Week: House Wren, reposted

Quicksearch

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Tuesday, May 7. 2024

Bird of the Week: House Wren, reposted

My House Wrens returned yesterday. I need to quickly finish my re-painting and refurbishing of their birdhouses because it cheers me to have them around ye olde cabin.

We have two pairs nesting each year in our wren houses, and their cheery chatter is a sentimental springtime pleasure. I can hear them right now. Once they lay their eggs, they tend to go silent so as not to draw attention to their eggs and babies.

With wrens, "If you build it, they will come." They love wren houses . They like to appropriate mailboxes too, or anything else with a hole in it. For many years when I was a kid we had them nesting happily in an old horse feedbag that hung on a nail in an open shed.

Problem with House Wrens is that the males will fill boxes in their territory with sticks to keep competitors from using them. Filthy Capitalist slime.

Read more about the House Wren here.

Posted by Bird Dog in Natural History and Conservation at 12:01 | Comments (18) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks

Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

we're central Pennsylvania country folk, our house wrens recently raised 4 chicks and exited the inside sun porch 3weeks ago ...
enjoyed quite their comings and goings during the maternal process, the fact we were sitting rather close should we be out there, didn't seem to be an issue ... thinking this is the 4th season

#1 La (Link) on 2011-05-11 21:00 (Reply)

Who can guess what car is shown in the background?

#2 W. C. Taqiyya on 2012-04-22 20:00 (Reply)

Oof -- I was thinking Datsun 280 or some sort of Citroen but I don't think so, looks newer.

I have a wren and some chicks nesting right behind some cans of finish in my barn. I reached over for some paint and got a handful of bird! She's pretty tolerant, flies in and out if I don't pay her any attention when going in and out, even moving the lawn mowers out.

#2.1 Jonathan Kratz (Link) on 2020-05-04 21:13 (Reply)

Years ago I purchased a flashy, cheap bird house from the Christmas Tree Shop. The wrens moved right in, had a family and provided us with hours of pleasure.
SO we purchased several "real" birdhouses and put them up. Years later, still no occupants, so we repeated with "real" birdhouses and still no luck. We even tried another flashy bird house from TCTS....no luck. What are we doing wrong?

#3 J on 2012-04-23 09:10 (Reply)

#3, same thing happened to me. And wrens are the opera stars of the birds. It amazes me the beauty and force of their song. Does anybody know why or how they pick their houses?
And I'd love to know where you got the little church bird house. And what paint is safe for the bird houses.

#4 Judith on 2015-04-22 10:48 (Reply)

House Wrens do not want another pair nesting too near.

That house is our church, made by a guy at our church. He made a bunch of them before he died, so I try to keep it in good shape.

Paint? I use white to keep it cooler, but I suppose no paint is best. No paint on our Bluebird houses or other bird houses.

#4.1 Bird Dog on 2015-04-22 11:57 (Reply)

Love the little creatures, even though they have a tendency to become apoplectic when you approach too closely. Have found it difficult to get them to return each year. Probably due to our current bird population. Anxious for the hummers to return.

#5 Randall on 2015-04-22 16:23 (Reply)

Years ago we had wrens set up housekeeping in a coffee can hanging on a wall (I forget what the original intent was - possibly to put seed in it as a bird feeder). This was right outside a kitchen window and the male came out to sing his little guts out. I had a portable tape recorder handy and recorded him. When he went into the new home, I played his song back. He busted out of there like a man - wren - on a mission. He was going to send that interloper packing. I'll admit to be amused at his confusion. I was cruel like that.

#6 BlogDog on 2015-04-22 16:45 (Reply)

No success with wrens, but I have goldfinch chicks in a large potted plant on the porch. I was giving it a good soak when one of the chicks began squawking in umbrage and hopped onto the pot's rim, then I noticed momma giving me the fish eye from the nearby magnolia. Chastened, I'm just keeping the bottom pan full of water for now, filling it innocuously from time to time. They don't seem to mind people close by, I like to think it's because I keep the feeders full of a premium blend..

#7 Aggie on 2019-04-27 15:02 (Reply)

This happened to me a few years ago with a large hanging fuchsia plant. I didn't know they were in there until I watered them and they all started squawking and the mother flew out. Felt bad about nearly drowning them.

#7.1 JC on 2020-05-03 20:35 (Reply)

The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Mackem: The Wren Song.

#8 Gringo on 2019-04-27 18:19 (Reply)

Had a good number of wrens a few years ago and no lucky to get one couple. For two years the female was not wired correctly and would let the first chicks starve waiting for the last egg to hatch. The cut down on our wren population. Don't know what happened to the others. Like the person above I found out there were nesting wrens in a hanging fuchsia plant when I watered them and the plant.

#9 JC on 2019-04-27 19:41 (Reply)

I have Brown Thrashers (State bird of Georgia) every year (for five years) in a flower pot on my back deck. Same mama, I think.

You may have them up in Yankee land, too.

What a beautiful creature. Beautiful song, too.

#10 oolioo on 2020-05-03 12:17 (Reply)

^^^ Yep. Looked it up.
[url]https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Thrasher/maps-range./url]

#11 oolioo on 2020-05-03 12:19 (Reply)

The sparrows grab every bird house around here so I don't put them up anymore.

#12 Andrew Stanton on 2020-05-03 12:47 (Reply)

Try ones with smaller entry holes. I have a "true" wren house and the sparrows get visibly frustrated when trying to enter. Hasn't deterred the wrens

#12.1 Frankns on 2020-05-03 13:55 (Reply)

We have Carolina Wrens instead of House Wrens here in southern Ohio. Have had them in the yard every year for the past twenty. They'll nest in about anything. They loved one of those SEE ROCK CITY models but beat it up. We also get them to nest in Williamsburg bird bottles. I constantly have to shoo them out of the garage where they'll build a nest in a ball cap or baseball glove in no time flat. Most charming thing is when they are teaching the new brood how to fly and hunt. A lot of scolding!

#13 NEBrooks (Link) on 2020-05-03 21:18 (Reply)

We have them singing all over our currently flowering Crabapple, so happy...I guess they go for the nectar? Or something...Lotsa ramshackle garages/ sheds in back and eaves and old porches on our street, so they seem to have plenty of improvised housing.

#14 Retriever on 2020-05-05 16:18 (Reply)

Add Comment

Name
Email	(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications. Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u], [url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here. Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (word), underscore are made via _word_. E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications. To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: BBCode format allowed
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Maggie's Farm

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Tuesday, May 7. 2024

Bird of the Week: House Wren, reposted