Striped Bass Fishing: Iowa Birds

Monday, May 16, 2016

Iowa Birds - Rascally Wrens!

I’m not a bird expert, but I play one on our patio. Our very favorite backyard bird is the wren and they are back shopping for a new home - hopefully one of ours will be satisfactory. I’ll explain that in my fun facts about wrens below:

The male wren comes to town first. It’s HIS job to find proper housing that meets with his mate’s approval. They will build several nests at once to try and persuade a female to mate with him.
Wrens build nests in nest boxes and need small wren houses. The house needs a small hole on the front so bigger, nastier birds, like starlings, can’t get to the babies.
Males who are returning to breed for the first time, often need a little help with what to do. So they will often settle close to a male wren who has some experience. That way they can learn from the older ones on the best type of nest to choose.
Wrens are very vocal. They are the first song you’ll hear in the morning and the last at night, more than likely. They have a definite cadence to their song.
Wrens often use spider eggs in their nest building. Spiders will hatch and eat the mites and parasites that can often live in a nest and kill the babies when they hatch.
Wrens are small but mighty. I equate them to the P-51 Mustang of WWII. They don’t back down from any bird and will fight to protect their territory. Likewise, they may sometimes steal a nest that is already being used, sometimes fearlessly attaching bigger birds and dragging their babies out of nests, just to use the nest themselves. We have also witnessed wrens divebombing our backyard squirrels to protect their territory.
The wrens get used to us being outside, but will scold us if we get to close…just to remind us that it’s our garden, but it’s really THEIR garden. They also like use to be sitting in the same place all the time…any swaying from the plan tends to make them a little nervous.
We usually have at least two nests of wrens each season. We have two wren houses in areas protected from the afternoon sun…the heat can be brutal on their little babies. We also have a dried monster gourd that a family used for a nest and wrens may make nests in just about anything where they can load up the twigs and create a cup…including boots!