Fledging Day!

Sorry the photo is skewed, but I took it hurriedly. Bless him I think I frightened him into flying before he had made up his mind. As soon as I clicked the shutter (without turning off the flash), he flew into the maple tree across the yard in the direction that he's looking in this picture. He was the last one to go. We only got to see three of them, but there were five eggs in the nest, so we must have missed the first two. That's what we get for sleeping late this morning. But now we can close up the house and get our new deck started!!

Wren house update

Well, this is what a house wren's nest looks like. She has brought in long twigs and other strange materials, some of which she can't even get into the house. She could hardly get into the house herself on one occasion this morning, there was so much junk poking out the door. I'm so unhappy about this bird! She's lucky she's protected or I would take the house down now....or would have before now, actually.

What happened????

I just posted an update on the wren house and a photo, but it isn't showing on the blog. Hmmmmm, somebody here doesn't like me??????? I know...I said something mean about the bird...yeah that's it......

Drat!!!

It's always something, isn't it? I looked up some wren information online and it's apparent that the current female who is building a nest in the wren house is a house wren, unlike the first one whose brood fledged recently. She was a Carolina wren according to the photos I found. This one, being a house wren could be a threat to future bluebird nestings if she stays around the area. I understand that this variety will puncture other bird's eggs and render them useless. I am just heartsick about this. House wrens are among the "protected" varieties (I don't know why) so I can't destroy the nest she has begun to build, but I do hate providing nesting space to a bird who might destroy the eggs of my bluebirds I love so much. Nothing I can do at this point, but as soon as this brood of wrens fledges, the wren house comes down! Be sure to click on the photo so you can get a good look at her mess.

Wren update

The baby wrens (see my previous post) fledged a couple of days ago, but unfortunately we didn't get to see them go. They fledged either late in the evening or early the next morning, so we missed it. I don't even know how many she had this time. But the good news is, before Roy could go take the house down so we could clean it out, mama wren was back again today, already refurbishing the old nest inside, preparing for her next brood! I knew that hummingbirds often begin preparations for a new brood right after the first one fledges...sometimes before....but I didn't know about wrens. Still don't actually, this is a learning process for me. I just hope we'll get lucky enough to see this new brood fledge. We'll just have to be quicker about cleaning out the house after they go.

Baby Wren

It's not so hot today as it has been, but apparently, with the sun shining on the house, it's hot enough for the babies (I think there are at least two of them) that one finds a little comfort in poking his wide open beak out the door. It has been quiet over there this morning, so I think they must have been snoozing in the cool we welcomed earlier today.
Mom and Pop bluebird are busy feeding five little babies in the other bird house, so it should get interesting around here in a few days. The wrens should fledge in a few days...the bluebirds will take another couple of weeks or so I think.

Not much new today

Nothing new to report it seems. This is the view of the backyard from my window near my computer. You can barely see on the left the bluebird house, and on the right the covered feeder for the other birds. The bluebird eggs should be hatching soon, if they're going to. She has been incubating them for fourteen days today, so it's time. She seemed to spend a lot of time off the eggs themselves, peering out the door, or flying off to have lunch or whatever, so I do hope they will hatch.
The wren in the little house I posted earlier(she did win out over the chickadees who tried to invade) has babies in there now and I see her coming and going to bring food to them. Wish I could see inside the house! I'll hopefully get to see them fledge if I keep watch though.