One of the baby wrens (of In the Company of Wrens fame) sitting in the rafters of the patio roof. I heard a commotion in the spruce near the house and walked over to see another fledgling being attended by its parents.
Back at the patio the raftered fledgling took off in the wrong direction, got caught in a spider web over the door, fought its way out, and dropped to the ground. Thinking I'd need to do a rescue I got a butterfly net, but when I went over to the little bird it scurried away across the patio and the garden and managed to jump into the spruce where the other fledgling was. Meantime, two more fledged, making their maiden flights of 5 or so metres successfully, straight out of the watering can (nesting box) and into the spruce.
There was a least one wren left in the nest when I finally left (late, but who could blame me?). Later it was reported to me that after an hour everyone had gone. So there were at least five (a normal clutch size), proving that a watering can is a good nest site for House Wrens.The fledglings spent the first day or two out in a brush pile nearby being fed by their parents, then the whole family moved to the grapevine tangle at the back of the yard, and the young pines just beyond.
2 comments:
A watering can is a funny place to build a nest, but it's great that it worked so well. Maybe they will be back there next year.
It's a little nerve-wracking to have birds nesting so close to the back door. Maybe next spring I'll hang the watering can up somewhere quieter and see if it gets used again.
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