Mrs. Wren Is Back!

Mrs. Wren (or one of her look-alike flock) is back! For the third time in as many years a Carolina wren has built a nest in my garage and laid eggs in it before I realized it. (I used to throw the nests out before they were completed.) This year's wren just renovated last year's nest. I wonder if it's the same family. She has laid 3 little speckled eggs on which she sits dutifully even when I shine a flashlight on her. I leave the garage door open a foot or so to let her come and go.

Last year 2 babies hatched out of 4 eggs. I thought they might die in the hot garage while we were on vacation, but the fledglings hopped out of the nest and flew away the day we got home. Maybe this is one of those babies.

One of the two eggs that didn't hatch was later broken by an over-curious child, but the other one is still on an upper shelf. I might have left it in the old nest as a "nest egg" but mama wren didn't need that encouragement to lay more.

The bird population around my house seems large. I don't put out bird seed or have bird houses as Cathy does, but several bushes have berries which provide an ample food supply, especially for robins and cardinals.

As much as it is an annoyance to have to remember to leave the garage door open, there is joy in seeing the little mother wren hunkered down on her eggs, then finding that the eggs have hatched and the brood growing.

That's one of the reasons I love this time of year and will keep the nest area safe and protected as long as the wrens will keep coming back.