We just finished our back porch. It was a year long project that we were elated to bring to completion. We had hoped to get it finished by June so we could enjoy the warm weather and the best view of the pond.
No sooner had we placed the last plant on the stand that I had stored for two years then two Carolina wrens took over. Seems they thought it had a pretty spectacular view too. It also afforded them safety, food (from all of the plants I put out there), and water (dog bowl next to dog bed).
If you don't know aything about Carolina wrens then let me enlighten you. They are LOUD! Very loud. They have a high itched "
chirp!" that they yell as soon as they are within 20 feet of their nest. I realized a few days into my ornithology study that this announcement was what got the babies to stick their head up and gape open their mouths for the impending meal. To say that these guys are big eaters puts even Jekyl to shame. They eat constantly. From sun up to sun down those parents delivered meals of bugs (favorite seemed to be wingless, multipled footed larvae). Most of the time the meal looked to be about the size of the awaiting patron. But somehow they alway seemed to shove that mega-morsel down those babies hatches.
As soon as the nest was identified the porch became "off-limits" to both 2 and 4 legged visitors. (Not what my husband had in mind for end of project celebration).
I kept a photo journal of the babies, the dates of the photos are included. Boy do they grow up fast.
It took about 1 month for the eggs to hatch, and then 13 days for them to shove off and make it in the big wide world alone.
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| July 1, 2012 |
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| July 18 |
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| July 21 |
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| July 22 |
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| July 23 |
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| July 24 |
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| July 25 |
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| July 26 |
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| July 27 |
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| The watchful eye of Wren and Sprout |
We left for vacation on the morning on July 27.
We came home a week later to an empty nest and a quiet porch.
I will be keeping a watchful eye out for the 5 brown wren's who grew up under the constant peeping Tom eyes of our kittens, and I will make sure that next spring a large pot of nasturtiums awaits them, JIC any of them need a safe place to raise a family.
We will have a glass of wine on our one month old, barely used porch tonight.
Cute story! For three years in a row, Carolina Wrens nested in a hanging fern on our front porch. They didn't seem to mind us going in and out of the house. What was dicey was keeping the fern watered enough to give them cover without getting the nest too damp.
ReplyDeleteI have feeders in the back yard, and I notice the wrens hold their own against the slightly larger sparrows and finches. And when my window is open they will come up to the screen and have a look inside. They are delightful.