Bird Watching Binoculars

My Dark Bluebird Legacy Lives On

I was so thrilled when a pair of bluebirds finally decided to make a home in my second bluebird box again this year. I hoped that my resident pair had moved on or died as cruel as that sounds. The reason is it is heartbreaking to see all their work go for near nothing. Thanks to Julie Zickefoose, I learned the pair probably had a genetic problem of some kind.  These two have laid as many as five eggs only to have one or two fledge and rarely more than one live.
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My House Wrens Have Disappeared

After my house wren pair set up a nest, laid eggs and fledged their first brood, I mentioned that I saw the male cleaning out the nest.  Then I saw the female putting new soft nesting materials back into the nest box.  When I checked around I was told this is how they do it and all was well.  Convinced that they were just getting ready to have another brood, I stopped thinking about it.  After all, the bluebirds had put their nest together in the other box and already had laid eggs.  The house wrens showed no interest in bothering them.
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Bluebirds Have Eggs In A Nestbox

After spending about a week visiting the nestbox everyday, the bluebirds have built a nest and now have eggs in it.  I’m very happy to see them make the commitment to the box which has also been looked over by my house wren male just in case nobody else wanted it.
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What To Do With My House Wrens

I Needed Some Expert Birding Advice

The house wrens in my back nestbox are filling that thing until it’s spilling out the front.  I emailed Julie Zickefoose, writer, artist and birding expert to ask what I should do about them.

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Bluebirds vs Chickadees – It’s A Draw

Nobody Takes The Nestbox

Earlier this week, I was looking out my office window at my backyard when I saw something suspicious. A mottled gray looking bird perched atop my closest bluebird box. Once mom showed up, it didn’t take me long to figure out that my resident bluebird pair had decided to nest elsewhere. It was funny to see the little one sitting on top of the box like he or she knew why they were there. Both the mom and dad came back a few times that morning but it was obvious they were just scoping out the box to make sure nobody else had moved in.

Not Even The Chickadees

The most surprising discovery came the next day when I heard a bunch of young chickadees buzzing their parents in one of my trees to be fed. The formula had been for years that if the chickadees got a mind to build before the bluebirds, they would take this closest nest box. If they dawdled, the bluebirds would take it. This pattern has repeated every year for the last 5 years. Not this time.

So there you have it. Either because they couldn’t stand the pressure of competition, or because they both wanted to spoil my blog story, nobody has taken the box for the first round of babies. I’m hoping that one of them will come to their senses for the next round this year.  I’ll keep you posted on their progress.

Tell Me Your House Wren Stories

It Started With A Song

I noticed this morning that there was a new but vaguely familiar bird singing in my backyard.  I get passers-by all the time so I didn’t take any notice of it at first.  Later, I noticed the bird was still singing repeatedly and loudly.  He had been at it for over an hour when I decided to take a closer look and see if I could figure out what all the fuss was about.

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