Wren Experinces in SE Virginia

by Jim
(SE Virginia)

Hasty Wren House

For years we’ve had wrens. One year they put a nest on our front porch in a wooden Dutch shoe--another year on a side porch through a hole in the screen in a cardboard box.
Another year they put a nest in a flower box at the end of the front walk.

Another year they put a nest in a casement window between the window and the screen next to the kitchen sink (they didn’t seem bothered by our close proximity whatsoever). When the baby flew for the first time he wanted to fly into the kitchen through the screen.

We had to discourage it from doing that. Finally, it got the idea and flew off. Another year they put a nest under the eves close to the kitchen over a deck.

Then the next year they flew through an open window of our van and put a nest inside back under a wooden box.

Every time I went shopping the baby wrens came with us. One day I moved the van from the east side of the house to the west side of the house.

The mother wren flew onto the engine cowling (within reach) and started chirping (like I got babies in here—stop). Those young birds were successful.

This year we had a disaster. The wrens put a nest in a watering can on the front porch which rested on a generator. We had to move the generator and so we put the can on a short step stool. This did not bother the wrens at all.

They continued to raise the chicks. Several times a black snake came close and some squirrels but they didn’t spot the nest.

Finally the black snake had figured out there was a nest somewhere close and climbed up high and looked and spotted the opening in the top of the watering can.

He headed toward the watering can with the male trying to distract him. I grabbed a piece of EMT and tried to move him off but he was after food and wouldn’t be deterred.

Later I realized that I should have grabbed the watering can and moved it into the house and then got rid of the snake.

However, he got the babies and when he emerged from the can he got deceased promptly with a split personality.

Now, I realize what the alarm call is and will get rid of any snakes before anything can happen.

We then built a new house for the wrens and reasoned out that the best place was hanging from the ceiling of the porch away from all vertical surfaces.

We put two screw eyes in the ceiling and hung the nest with two pieces of twine. The house seems quite stable.

We reasoned that the snake can’t crawl upside down on a horizontal surface and we kept the house away from all vertical walls. We don’t think that either snakes or squirrels can get the house.

We needed a house in a hurry so we fashioned one from a plastic food container. We cut an opening in the lid and bent the flap down for an entrance perch. We drilled two holes in the top for the twine, fore and aft, and two holes in the bottom for drainage.

We don’t know if the wrens will come back this year or not, but feel that next year they’ll be back. If we make a similar house away from the porch we’ll add a sun shade and a snake spoiler at the bottom and point the entrance south.

When the snake killed the babies the mother wren cried piteously for two hours. We felt awful, ourselves. They brought food two more times after I dispatched the snake but the babies were dead.

Finally (believe it or not) one wren flew close to our overlooking door and perched on a power cord in front of the window of the door and looked in at us as if to say goodbye. We really felt a loss ourselves.

We also have some great chickadee experiences if anyone’s interested.