We have a nice deck just off our kitchen, and when we added a roof a few years ago, we “boxed-in” an area of the ceiling and hung a ceiling fan there, leaving a small space the thickness of a 2×4 between the fan framework and the ceiling. Early last spring a male Carolina Wren took a shine to that enclosed area and began preparing it as a nesting site to show a potential mate. The starlings soon found it too, so I had to close-in the access. I got some wren nest box plans and hung a couple new nest boxes under the eaves of the house and workshop, hoping to attract a couple House Wren couples, and possibly our Carolina friend too.
House wrens are cocky brownish little birds with long pointy beaks that can easily be recognized by the way their tails point upward at a jaunty little angle. Next to Purple Martins, House Wrens seem to be the second most popular backyard songbird home owners like to provide with housing. Having wintered in the south, male House Wrens arrive here several days before the females, intent upon staking out their territories early and having a nice selection of summer homes for the ladies to choose from when they arrive. They take very well to the homes we provide for them, but wrens have been seen nesting in many places other than those nifty houses we build. Their nests have been found in overturned flower pots in garden sheds, in the small hole in the center of a ball of twine, in a large abandoned hornet’s nest, in old shoes, boots and hats, and in the pocket of a scare crow’s coat. The style of the house doesn’t seem to be important, as long as the interior is kept fairly small, as wrens are cavity nesters and feel secure in small tight places. I found directions showing entrance holes anywhere from 7/8 to 1 1/8 inches in diameter. Smaller holes keep out starlings, sparrows and other bigger birds. I found results of a study suggesting that slotted holes seem to work well and are evidently appreciated by the males as slots allow them easier access into the house with nesting materials in their mouths.
When the male arrives (often to the same general nesting area each year,) he chooses several nesting sites and immediately sets about stuffing them all full of sticks and twigs. After he has successfully wooed a female, she makes her choice from the options he’s provided and adds a lining of feathers, hair or wool to his bachelor pad and moves in. Male wrens are known to literally stuff these chosen sites so full of material that the female has to remove some just to get inside. One writer once watched a male wren in her backyard as he crammed a house so full of sticks, they stuck out the hole. When the female arrived, she threw most of it back out into a pile on the ground below. While she was gone to hunt for suitable lining material, the male put one of his precious twigs back inside, and when the female arrived back, she again threw the stick out into the pile. I guess it’s that “When mammas happy everyone’s happy” thing.
Wrens often raise 2 broods a year. Five to eight tiny ½ inch eggs are laid, 13 to 15 days later the hungry youngsters hatch, and 12 to 18 days after hatching are ready to fly from the nest. A wren’s diet is primarily insects, and for those 12 to 18 days the parents’ life is put on hold as they strive to keep a house full of ravenous little insect guzzlers fed. One observer (who had way too much time on their hands and obviously a worse social life than even I) counted over 1000 feeding trips made by a pair of wrens in one day! Just one of many good reasons to place wren houses near your garden. Also, using pesticides sparingly in your flower and vegetable gardens, if possible, will provide lots of good high-protein snacks for wren families.
Years ago, I had a wren house under the house eaves just outside my office window. I haven’t had a lot of luck over the years attracting wrens to my nest boxes, but the year we had a family in that nest, they provided us with hours of entertainment. I cut a slot in the opening of that house, and the wrens seemed to like that idea just fine. The slotted hole also gave them something more to perch on as they tended to the hungry mouths inside, and they could often be seen hanging onto the front of the house as if stuck there on a suction cup. Between the hordes of bugs they eat and the hours of entertainment they provide, in my book wrens are top notch and yet another good reason the Explore Kansas Outdoors.
Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].
