Gone Again

Once again a house wren brood has fledged and once again I managed to miss it.

As was the case with the first brood back in June, the young started getting antsy. One chick again stayed close to the nest box opening to intercept a parent bearing food. This chick at one point leaned so far out of the box the parent pushed it back inside. But the chick kept looking out, watching for food but also, to me, curious about the world outside the box.

Yesterday, I had my binoculars on the box when a parent came with food, shoved the one chick out of the way and allowed me to see the open mouth of its sibling. The parent fed that chick, checked for poop and left.

Empty nest, July 27, 2024
(Margo D. Beller)

I told myself I should get my camera, sensing things were about to change. As usual, I just sat there.

Later in the day, back from various Saturday errands, I took advantage of the less-humid weather to do some very necessary weeding, including clearing out crabgrass from between paving stones and pulling out ragweed before it could develop pollen that would make me sneeze more than I already do.

One of those areas was at the other end of the yard where ornamental grasses and other plants deer generally avoid are in an unnetted plot. Behind me I heard house wrens. They later flew to a shrubby area just beyond my compost pile, the same area where the first brood hid after fledging. Later, I rested on my porch and saw no activity at the nest box.

Unlike in past years, however, I do not feel sad at seeing the empty nest. I did what I intended, which was to help maintain the house wren population, even though house wrens are far from endangered. This year a pair had one chick and then a second (or the same?) pair had two chicks. With any luck the chicks will grow, fly south to the wintering grounds in Central and South America and then fly north to breed. Big ifs. Life is perilous for all birds, but especially for young birds that somehow know how to migrate without parental help.

I can only hope for the best. The box will be taken down and cleaned out in October, then stowed away for next year.