Our friends the Carolina Wrens

Every year we have a Carolina Wren couple who builds a nest on the top of the column on our front porch near the front door. Momma bird flies off quickly when Mom and Dad come by (and Mom screams every time), but even though Momma bird gets disturbed she still sticks around and comes back.


Here is Momma bird looking over her nest of eggs.


This is when the baby birds were just born.


And here are the babies about to head out. We hadn't seen Momma bird and were afraid she had abandoned the nest and we were checking on the babies.


But it turns out they were about ready to move on, because the next day we had an empty nest. (There was one egg that never hatched, but the babies were all healthy and out in the great big world.)

The funny thing is we never seem to see the little ones leave. It must be when we are asleep or not paying attention to them. It's just one day they are here, and the next they're gone. We have no idea of the life span of these birds, but assume that they are either the same birds, or offspring, that come back every year. We are probably wrong, but we like to think they are anyway.

Feather Friday

Mom and Dad have a bird issue. They have hanging ferns on the front porch that the birds love to nest in. Mom and Dad try to discourage this, but the birds are just so determined. There was one fern that was dying because Mom and Dad didn't want to water the baby birds. Well, the baby birds were due to leave about the time that Mom and Dad were away last weekend. So when they got home they checked the nest and the babies were gone, but new eggs are already in the nest. So there's this dead fern that is driving them nuts now. So the question is, what to do next? If they move the fern to the side of the porch (about three feet at most), will the momma bird move with it? Can they put the nest in a new fern in the same spot? Can they put the eggs in a matching nest in the other fern (like I said, busy birds)? They don't want to harm the eggs, but they want a live fern hanging in that spot. Any advice is a help. Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday