We have spent most of the rainy weekend watching and photographing the birds on the Jelly Porch. I counted the pair of House Wrens, 5 different Baltimore Orioles, a pair of Cardinals and of course the many hummingbirds at their feeder. I almost forgot the pair of House Finches who have joined the group that likes grape jelly. It is fun to watch how each behaves. I don't know if the wrens are choosing this nest(I placed a gourd house up high in the corner) or another somewhere else. They aren't here daily, but always return. They are very mean to the other birds. The male orioles are mean to the juvenile males. The female redbird is more adventurous than the timid male and comes directly to the jelly; he hesitates a few times before flying down. The bluebirds have nested in the martin house; no martins this year; also in another blue bird house. A pair of Brown Thrashers have returned for several years to the east side yard and I am sure nest there someplace. I have begun seeing the gorgeous Blue Buntings this week both at the seed feeder and ground feeding. Lots to watch.

Well Dirtgirl, I just couldn't stand seeing your post not get answered anymore! I didn't respond earlier, because I've never seen foil in my carolina wrens' nests. It's very interesting though! Those birds find the strangest/funniest places to build their nests! One year, we had our table saw on our big, covered front porch, with a tarp over it (yes, we're pretty fancy here), and those little guys built a nest right under the tarp! Fortunately, we didn't need to use the saw for awhile. I have tarps for an awning in front of my chicken coop, that I keep drawn up in summer, and pulled down in winter, to keep the wind out. Well, there's a nest inside that drawn-up tarp now. In the winter they sleep on a ledge right outside the chicken coop. As part of my nightly ritual in the winter, of closing up the chickens, I shine my flashlight up there, and make sure there's several pairs of feet. They are cute little guys!

House wrens are cavity dwellers. They will remove whatever is in a cavity so they can make a nest. Even if what is in the cavity is another bird, they will do what they can to take the space. However, that said, they do not fly around looking for nests to bust up, or babies to kill. Birds sitting in open cup nests or on shelves or light fixtures are none of their concern, they are not on a mission to take over all nests, just nesting cavities. My guess is the babies fell out of the nest. Sometimes it happens.

Hi Konrad, Kinda sad to lose your RBNH nest... but this is nature at work I guess. Yes, we lost 1 bluebird egg to a HOWR 2 seasons ago. We saw him fly to and into the nest box, and come out with the pierced egg still impaled on his beak! We were waving our arms and shouting at him, as he dropped it on the ground and flew off. It all happened in 30 seconds or less. We discouraged him with a squirt gun for days and the parent blues dived bombed him mercilessly whenever he came near. He finally stopped coming around, and I'm happy to say the other 3 eggs hatched and fledged successfully. Hope your Nuthatches try again for you, Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: Latest Slideshow