House Wren Family

After the bluebird failure this spring, a pair of house wrens moved into the bluebird box on the blackberry trellis. They actually filled both bluebird boxes with nests but only laid eggs in one, which I later learned is common practice. The unused nest is called a “dummy nest”. Once the eggs hatched, we diligently kept the cats indoors to make sure that once the babies fledged, they wouldn’t fall prey to our viscous cats’ claws. Two days ago, the baby wrens left their nest, and the backyard has been full of chatter from them and the parents. It’s funny to hear the happy songs of the babies paired with the nervous fussing of the parents. Some phases of bird-life aren’t that different from people-life.