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.
I looked around in the trees in my backyard but couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. Before I knew it, a little bird had landed on the hotly contested bluebird box not twenty feet from my back door. I didn’t recognize the little bird but before he had been on the house 10 seconds he started to sing the song I’d heard all morning. I got out my binocs and was able to ID him as a house wren. The song and the picture came together for me.
House Wrens Don’t Come Highly Recommended
I read in my Stokes guide and also remembered hearing other birders talking about how house wrens can be as aggressive and destructive as house sparrows. I can’t remember who it was but one birder even suggested aggressive means to rid yourself of them. I’m not one to trap and kill a bird on suspicion alone. In fact, I’ve never killed a bird to get it out of my backyard. However, having bluebirds and chickadees in my backyard, both of which are cavity nesters, I thought I’d see how serious he was about nesting there.
I grabbed my iPod loaded up with BirdJam and Stokes CDs and began playing songs back to him whenever I heard him in my yard. He took immediate exception to this but was undaunted in his task to secure the nest. He had already started pulling the other nest material out and putting in twigs. When he heard the other phantom male calls, he would fly away from the nest but returned quickly. Eventually, he only sang back and went about his business.
What Is Your Experience With Them?
I figure that I’ll empty out the box and keep an eye out for other birds looking to move in. From what I understand, the biggest threat is that once they use a box, like house sparrows, they are 10 times more terratorial about it. Since the males may set up as many as 12 nests to try to court the female, I figure the odds are low he would use this one even if I did nothing. Still, I don’t want any chickadees or blubirds to feel unwelcomed or threatened in my backyard.
Do you have any house wren stories? I would love to hear them! Leave me a comment using the form below and share them with our readers.
May 19th, 2009 at 5:02 am
[...] house wrens in my back nestbox are filling that thing until it’s spilling out the front. I emailed [...]
June 10th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
While I agree that wrens can be aggressive, they’re only protecting their territory. Wren houses should not be placed near Bluebird or other nesting sites.
It’s not always so easy for the wrens. Let me describe an incident that took place this week at our house in Wisconsin. My daughter is still very upset about it.
We had a pair of wrens nesting in our birdhouse. We welcome them each year, and look forward to their bubbling song announcing spring.
Something (I suspect the neighborhood cat) knocked the house from the fence post, and made off with the mother wren.
I managed to find four newborn nestlings below and put them back in the nest. The male wren (the singer) returned to the nest numerous times to deliver food (to his wife who feeds the young) but of course she was gone. This morning, I saw him carry each of the dead chicks out of the nest and line them up neatly at the edge of the garden, as if to say “could you please bury these little ones for me?” He made sounds that I had never heard from a wren before, I assume in grief.
June 11th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Hi Mark,
Don’t misunderstand me. I loved having the house wrens last year and miss them this year. I totally understand their need to defend their territory. I just wanted to get advice from Julie on how to help my bluebirds and them coexist peacefully. It worked out rather well.
I was lucky enough to have my house wrens use my box that was on a birdhouse pole and baffled so neither my squirrels or other predators would have much luck and they did well because of it. However, I also know from my resident Carolina wrens that they tend to prefer boxes on fences or more exposed areas.
Your story is very sad and points to the delicate balance ecosystems are held in and how affecting one link can break the chain.
Your story is also one of the main reasons I support the Cats Indoors program. People who think letting their cats roam freely is “natural” have not seen the stats of killed species of birds and how miserable and short those cats’ lives are.
Thank you for sharing your story and take heart that the father will live to have more young.
June 11th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
BirdDude,
Thanks for your kind comments.
I agree with Cats Indoors. I’m not sure why people let their cats run loose. I suspect they don’t like cleaning the litter box. At the very least, outdoor cats should wear a LOUD bell to give song birds a sporting chance.
By the way, I obliged Mr. Wren’s request by burying the birds in the garden, next to the pepper plants. My daughter anointed each grave with a wild daisy.
Mark
June 12th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Mark,
In my opinion, domesticated animals that don’t share your living space are livestock and even livestock owners don’t just feed and let their animals run wild.
If people don’t want the responsibility of caring for and sheltering cats and dogs they should not own them.
Off my soapbox…
I’m waiting to hear back from Julie but my initial reaction to your story is that the nest trauma that killed the mother eventually killed the babies.
I know that doesn’t mean much or matter to you.
Kudos for giving them a little memorial garden.
Jeff
July 28th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Hi,
We also had a pair of house wrens build a nest in our decorative bird house we put up at camp. We are only there on the weekends and it is right off the deck. Well we were enjoying them for the last month or so. but sat both mom and dad were feeding the babies. Then sunday when I woke up I noticed one of the birds (I assume it was the dad) had an insect in his mouth and was waiting for the babys to chirp but nothing. He even looked inside and left then. I didn’t see them all morning but I left at noon to go home. ANy idea what happened?
July 28th, 2010 at 11:58 am
Hi Rebecca,
Have you checked the bird house to see if the birds have fledged the nest? I would check to make sure they haven’t met with foul play. If there’s no way to carefully open it, you might try first tapping around the entrance to see if they make any sound. I would be careful if it’s not easy to see into the box that a snake may have gotten them and might be sleeping inside.
Let me know if you’re able to hear anything and we’ll go from there.
Jeff
July 28th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Hi,
I did look inside best i could but didn’t see anything and I did tap but didn’t hear. DO you think they left and I missed it? That would be good. Wouldn’t the dad know though or mom? It’s up high and it didn’t look like anything got in there. The nest was all in place. We are going back tonight for the weekend. Any suggestions?
Should I just leave it?
July 28th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
If it’s been at least a week since you think they hatched they’re probably gone. You’re saying the parents keep showing up with food? The house wrens are unbelievably terratorial and may just be checking back to make sure nobody’s been in there.
If you don’t see anything in there I would just leave it. When they’re ready for another brood, if they’re going to have one, they’ll come back and rebuild fot that.
I wouldn’t empty the house out until after breeding season is over which should be at latest into August. Or if you see them not return for any length of time.
The tricky part here, Rebecca is knowing the timeline when you’re only there on weekends.
Let me know what you find.
Jeff