An Empty Nest

Once again, things have changed.

On Tuesday, June 11, I watched as the house wren parents flew to the box. But I soon realized there was only one chick. That chick had learned very quickly that if it stayed by the opening, it would get the food. When it went back inside the box I did not see multiple bodies moving around. I had figured there were two. Now there was one.

As I watched, the chick leaned so far out of the box I feared it would fall and be snatched up by a predator. It was not only eager for food, it looked like it was eager to investigate the world beyond the nest. This chick had developed nicely and was obviously eating well based on all the poop its mother was removing to keep bacteria out of the nest. This one is ready to fledge, I told myself.

Empty wren box, 2024
(Margo D. Beller)

I was busy with other things for the rest of the day, but when I came out Wednesday morning, the box was quiet. No feeding, no head out the opening. I hoped the chick survived.

Thursday morning when I walked outside the porch to the patio I heard the male wren singing, the female wren warning of my appearance and the chick begging. They were in shrubbery in the opposite corner of the yard from the nest. They would later move back and forth along the area behind the flood wall between my property and the neighbor's. This is the same area where last year's wren family foraged for a few days before scattering. Then, another pair (or the same one?) took over the box.

I am not sure how to feel about this year's pair having only one chick rather than the usual three to 10. Were there others that died because their sibling blocked them from getting any food? 

If you do a google search you will find lots of articles explaining house wrens, their nesting and mating habits. But one thing is obvious: In the wild, it is the strongest that survive. Chicks that grab the food live, their weaker brothers don't. 

It is the same reason why female cowbirds drop eggs into another type of bird's nest. These eggs hatch sooner and the chick grows bigger by grabbing all the food or pushing other chicks out of the nest. Then the cowbird grows, fledges and leaves to join up with other cowbirds. How they know to do this after growing up in another type of bird's nest is a mystery.

What isn't a mystery is that, for now, this year's house wren box is open for a new tenant.