They are Making a Nest Where?

I am convinced that wrens are part human, because they share some characteristics with us.  They would never, on the driest, warmest day, consider building a nest outside that would be unprotected from rain, hail, and a plethora of other meteorological discomforts when there is a perfectly good porch, eve, or garage for the taking.   Like us, I believe, they are doing it mostly for the comfort of their young when the blessed events occur.

I have found Carolina wrens, Thryothorus ludovicianus,  (such a big name for a little bird) making nests in the strangest places.  Once or twice they made nests in my fishing boots hanging in the garage.  They built in a cowboy boot I had there, and a number of niches, shelves, and pots they could commandeer.  But the most surprising of all was a cap, which I hadn't worn in a while, hanging by the door.  When I started to put it on, a wren flew almost in my face - that episode convinced me that I have a healthy heart.  


Not that they don't pay rent, of a sort; the two you see in the pictures, well, there are two, a male and a female, both doing the task of building, give me immeasurable entertainment as I watch them bring in pine needles, dried leaves, tinder, and all other kinds of building material.

When I pointed it out to my wife, she said, "They can't build there, I need to water my plant."

Not to be undone, I got an empty hanging basket and filled it with artificial vines and replaced the petunias with it.  I even took some of their nest material and placed it in the bottom.  I then anxiously waited to see what the wrens would do.


The basket is outside the living-room window.

"Hmm, looks pretty good"

This is the initial inspection.  To pass   inspection, the  site must be secure, dry, and roomy with just the right amount of privacy.

Less than an hour later one lit on the edge of the basket with a dried leaf in it beak and went down into the basket.  Haaa!  They had bought it. 


This is a couple of weeks later and the babies have hatched.  I carefully looked inside and they have three wide-mouthed, demanding, hungry chicks.



This is probably Dad taking out the trash.  Most birds remove feces daily keeping a clean nest to avoid infection of their young.





On the subject of photography, I recently bought a cheap Fujifilm s4200 camera which serves my purposes.  It cost $153 from Amazon.  I could have chosen a Nikon or Canon for $500+, but I don't need those.

Mine is a "bridge camera," which looks like the expensive ones but isn't.  It has 14 megapixel, 24 power zoom, macro and super macro, and it also has a viewfinder, as well as the LCD screen.  I must have a viewfinder because in some situations it is very much needed.  In the above pictures I was shooting through double-paned glass, which I think is pretty good, but I doubt that National Geographic will be calling me any time soon.