It's True What They Say About House Wrens

13 years ago

Hi folks,

I am posting thisc mainly for people like myself who are fairly new at the backyard birding interest, to say that what is said about house wrens having mean and destructive instincts is true.

Less than two weeks ago I spotted what I hoped was a returning Carolina Wren (who was delightful and nested in our yard), only to determine that it was a House Wren. We had chickadees nesting near the garden so right away I was concerned. The reputation I had always read was that the house wrens were a species nasty to other birds and not one you'd want to have around. Obviously the things they do are prompted by instincts they have for survival, but that doesn't make them any more desirable to have nesting in your backyard.

To make a long story short, in the space of about five days the wren made dummy nests in all three of our nestboxes, and the last one on top of the chickadees' nest after having attacked the newly hatched chicks and thrown them to the ground below. And the nest wasn't even a real nest, it was a bunch of twigs thrown in.

To say the least, even though I had read that this ugly behavior happens, I was shocked and upset. I had taken great care not to check the nest any more than necessary (1-2) times a week, I had put two different kinds of guards on the front of the box once I knew there was a house wren around. I always think that to describe any animal with human tendencies is wrong, they live by instinct and experience, but this bird was a devious and nasty piece of work.

I am going to take down all our nestboxes in the hope that the wren will move on. Maybe this won't happen, but at least he may be discouraged, and no more nestboxes here will give him an opportunity to wreak havoc. Also, this experience was discouraging to me; I am going to just enjoy the feeder birds and ones that come to the garden for the birdbath.

So...yes, house wrens do rotten things. If you think there is one in your backyard habitat, and you have nestboxes, it is good to check out the sialis website to see what measures you can take to thwart this behavior.

Donna

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Comments (7)

bbcathy
13 years ago
Many of us have experienced this. I know it is very sad. Because of nest checks we have found the babies out of the box on the ground but still alive and have actually put them back in the box and had them successfully fledge. HOWR seem to not exhibit this behavior as much when natural cavities are used for nesting. Sorry for your Dees
Cathy
dzyg
13 years ago
I am so sorry to hear about your baby Dees, how heartbreaking. Offering nestboxes comes with alot of sadness at times but is also very rewarding. One thing to do is always become educated like you said, go to sialis.org and learn all the proper ways to offer safe nestboxes. Sometimes you do everything you can to help and it isn't enough but sometimes it is and then it makes it all worth it.

Donna
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Wrens are pretty bold in the bird world. They frequently build nests really close to human activity, so they seem to know what they're getting in for when the babies come. Maybe they instinctively know their little ones will be safer from predators when they live so close to humans. I had a Carolina Wren INSIST on building her nest in my newly potted hanging baskets this year and even though I took out the nesting material every single day before it really got built, they kept at it. They KNEW I was there, that I knew they were there, and that I kept tearing the nest up on a regular basis. They still wouldn't stop. That says a lot. I took down that basket and put up an empty, with a bedding of loose dead geranium roots, then put their nesting material on top of that, hoping they'd accept it. They did. They finished it out the way they wanted and now their hanging basket is the closest to the steps and to the front door. They seem perfectly happy with it. After watching them from my yard as I worked, after a couple of weeks, it seemed they had abandoned it. I never saw them again. One evening, just at dusk, I tilted the basket to peek inside and scared the mother off the nest. Again... not a peep for days. I had to practically camp out at my living room window to catch one of them. I finally am seeing them again, regularly, as the little ones are keeping them extremely busy. They're flying in with lunch and out with fecal sacs all day long, but you never see them if you're out there. I wouldn't worry about your activity near their nest, like cleaning away spider webs. You wouldn't believe all the rowdy things I've done on that front porch since they moved in. They probably will have one or two more clutches, though, before winter, so you may want to set up an alternative nesting site and see if they'll accept it, if you want to use your front door again.
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kendra2003
13 years ago
It's hard to believe that such a tiny bird can cause so much destruction, but they do. It wouldn't seem as bad if they were taking over other boxes to use themselves, but they destroy other bird's nests even when they have a box of their own. I'm so sorry to hear about your Chickadee nest. The HOWR destroyed one of my Chickadee nests last year, and they didn't even want the box.
gymell
13 years ago
Put up a wren guard after the first egg is laid in your chickadee/bluebird/whatever nest. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just enough to obscure the view of the nest box entrance from the wrens. I make mine out of cardboard and duct tape. Take it down when the chicks are 7-10 days old. In 5 years of having chicakdees and/or bluebirds nest in my yard, with plenty of wrens around, never a problem.
terrene
13 years ago
So sorry to hear about the Chickadee nest, what a bummer! Gymell, she did put up 2 wren guards, but apparently those didn't work?

So far, I think I've heard some House Wrens in the neighborhood but haven't seen any nearby (yet). But there has been an influx of HOSPs the last couple days - fledglings maybe? What obnoxious birds. I've had to stop feeding - don't want to encourage them at all.
kendra2003
13 years ago
I have read (I think it was on this forum) that you should not use a wren guard on TRES. Something about the way they communicate with each other while looking out the hole? Can anyone tell me if this is correct?
chickadeemelrose
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your kind words everybody. I know I tried to protect the chickadee family. Live and learn I guess.

I did have a chance to throw a piece of wood at what was probably "the fugitive" wren yesterday when he was right behind me singing in a tree near the garden. I didn't hit him, but it still felt good. :)

It's True What They Say About House Wrens

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It's True What They Say About House Wrens

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