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I can stop kvetching now

17 years ago

Hey, you all said so but I didn't believe you...well, maybe I believed you a little because I didn't take the nest out. So today, the first day in 2 whole weeks that I didn't check the nest this morning, and you know it, there's an egg in there. Should I wait til morning to put the wren guard on? the wren has been putting sticks in one of the other boxes and hasn't been near this nestbox.

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Comments (7)

dzyg
17 years ago
How cool, now if I were you though, I would get that wren guard up asap. I almost lost my Dee eggs thinking I would wait until tomorrow. Good luck!

Donna
bbcathy
17 years ago
Yes Anita Now and make sure it has sides and it covers the hole well.
Cathy
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anita55
Original Author
17 years ago
Hey all, I put the wren guard on and watched for a while. The male made several attempts to go into the box but the female just sat on top pecking at the cardboard. I waited a good while but neither one of them got it. So I removed the guard to allow her to lay her egg. She did lay a second egg and I have put the wren guard back on. Hopefully they will figure it out before night. If not, I will remove it again in the morning for her to lay the next egg. I have a feeling she is a young bird, maybe a first year. I hope all goes well with them, silly kids.
dzyg
17 years ago
Anita, last year I had a pair of Blues that would not accept the guard. I am thinking because it had sides on it and they couldn't see the hole. Does yours have sides on it? If it does can you take the sides off just until you can see they accept it and then put the sides back on. Just a thought, hopefully it will work.

Donna
anita55
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi Donna, the left side is completely covered but the right side is cut down so that the hole should be visible. I used this same home made type of get-up last year. If they don't get it by this evening I will cut off a little more so that it's more visible.
anita55
Original Author
17 years ago
Ok so it's 2:30 - I just saw mom on the nest and dad brought her a bite to eat so they are ok with the wren guard. I did cut a little more off the left side so they could see where to go. They tend to perch on the sprinkler pole on that side so I figured it made sense to make that side a little more accessible. And as luck would have it the box that the wrens are using is way off to the right side of the yard, so maybe they will stay way over there. The box that is paired with that one, though, is being used by TRES. Do I need to be concerned about their safety? I walked up to that nestbox where the male TRES was sitting and I got as close as three feet away and he didn't budge. What a fearless little bird! Will the wrens harm them or are they better at fending them off than the bluebirds.
anita55
Original Author
17 years ago
It's Monday and she laid her 4th egg yesterday. It's pretty cool here today and she was sitting on them this morning (no new egg) so I think she might be incubating. Good news. The swallows have been guarding the other nestbox with all their might but there is not a single piece of nesting material in the box. The wren is busily building up sticks every day in the third box. I remove the top layer every once in a while. I hope this will keep him busy for some time. I haven't seen any actual nesting material with the sticks. Does the female usually complete the nest on top of the sticks? I'm keeping a close eye on it.

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