It's not that unusual to see bluebirds hanging out in the yard or at the feeders.
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....So I thought it was about time to put up a bluebird house that my Dad made for me.
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I should probably tell you that he gave it to me in, I think, 2011. But I had a newborn and no idea how or where to install the house. Fast forward to early March of 2014.....and I realized I really wanted the bluebirds to nest in our yard. I headed to my favorite bird store and was amazed to find that they sell a kit! I even managed to install the birdhouse myself! Notice the little blue feeder I bought so that I could try to entice the bluebirds with mealworms.
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Within a few hours of putting the house up, the bluebirds found the mealworms and started feasting. Much to my delight, they spent about a week checking out the house. I'd walk out into the yard to find a bluebird hanging on the house with his/her head sticking in the hole (and I know I took a picture of just that but I now can't find it anywhere ~ I just spent 30 minutes looking through all my files!).
Well, much to my dismay, the bluebirds passed on my house. I was so bummed.
But then....
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.....a sweet little wren decided the house was just perfect!
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I've been studying her ever since. She stays very busy! For the first week, I watched as she carried stick after stick after stick into the little hole. It was truly fascinating! The girls and I would sit chairs out on the lawn and drink juice and eat snacks as she worked. I mean honestly....who needs TV?
One day, while the sweet wren was away looking for food, we opened the house. I couldn't believe my eyes.....
I don't know about you but I've never seen a nest like that before!
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It took a little while but, within the last few days, I heard the first sound of babies calling out to their Mama. The sweetest sounds.
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Now Mama's on double and triple shift. I've never seen ANYONE work that hard, except for maybe myself. Ha!
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Last night, I was so pleased to take the below photos after she captured a grasshopper. Those babies must have LOVED feasting on such a gourmet treat!
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I'm so happy she came to live at our house!
Am I a little disappointed that the bluebirds didn't choose to stay? I can't lie, I am.
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But then I go outside and watch this Mama hard at work.....and I listen to her beautiful song.....I try over and over again to take her picture.....and I realize that she is also a gift. The sweet little wren makes this Mama incredibly happy.
I can't wait to meet her babies!
Thank you, Dad ~ the bluebird/wren house is truly one of my favorite gifts ever.....and it means so much to me that you built it yourself! XOXO
Eastern Bluebirds and Wrens!! Two of my favorite birds. The Eastern Bluebird is such a beautiful and loving bird. I rarely see them where I live now. I love this birdhouse Audrey! Wrens usually next in a tree hole so this is so amazingly rare to see :)
ReplyDeleteHi Keith! It took a while to actually figure out which bird it was. I knew of Carolina wrens but not this one. Honestly, she's kind of nondescript and not instantly recognizable like the cardinal, bluebird, towhee, etc. I finally figured it out based on her song. It's so cool to still be learning new things about birds! Thanks for your comment, as always....
DeleteOh how sweet! I LOVE that birdhouse and it is so cool that you actually have a resident raising babies in it! I smiled thinking of you and the girls, kicking back and having juice and snacks while watching mama wren. LOL - so dang cute! This reminds me that I have a photo to share of a bird's nest in our ocotillo cactus in the front yard. I thought of you when Doug pointed it out to me. It's incredible how a little bird can carry such large sticks, and then maneuver them around cactus spikes!
ReplyDeleteHave fun with your little bird family!
Wow.....in a cactus! I hope you have a picture of that, Deb! Pretty cool.
DeleteSo what kind of wren is it? It looks very much like a Carolina wren to me, but then, sometimes photos are difficult to tell...JUST LOOKED IT UP...is it a house wren?
ReplyDeleteAnd I must tell you that Carolina wrens will build almost anywhere! They will build in a bag of nails in your garage if they can! (The Wren's Nest...the home of Joel Chandler Harris in Atlanta, called that because of a wren building a nest in the mailbox!)
Also, bluebirds like to have their nests near an open field...for example, my Dad has birdhouses on fence posts next to his large pasture and the bluebirds always build there!
We had a wren build a nest on the door wreath that I propped on my light fixture next to my back door (couldn't use the light!) and it was made of moss, sticks and spider webs! Beautiful!
Yes Kay, you're right, I do believe it's a house wren! Our squirrels around here and INSANE so I had to put the metal around the hole. They would've been in there in no time. Hope you're doing well!
DeleteOH! And I meant to say, I am so glad that your birdhouse has that metal ring around the hole, it is needed to keep the squirrels away!!!
ReplyDeleteHow very very lovely. We USED to have blue birds; indeed we USED to have lots of birds -- can you believe there isn't a single tree behind our house now. So thank you for sharing -- your pictures even look cool and breezy!
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey! I'm home again and catching up on my favorite blogs. And your posts always fill my heart ~ I hate it when I fall behind.
ReplyDeleteYour recent posts have been beautiful ~ especially "Daddy's Girl" and Sophie's sweet handmade birthday card. Clara will remember and treasure these special moments with her dad when she is all grown up.
I spent my career with overprotected kiddos, many of whom were divorced from nature. It used to upset me a lot. The world is a different place now, and it's not always safe to play the way we did as children. I love how you make time to get Sophie and Clara into nature as much as you do. Those long bike rides with kiddos ~ You deserve a halo made of lovely flowers!
I love trees too. I am always stopping to look at them, touch them, and photograph them. I have so many tree photographs!
Your little wren is sweet and most likely very grateful to have such a nice home to raise her babies. We have a house finch nest somewhere up on our roof. That pair of parents is very busy. They're talkative too! They rackety-yack throughout the day as they land and take off from our deck railing. I keep wondering what they are chirping to each other.
Enjoy today, and have a happy week!