Steffie Thanks. The male mockingbird here is always mock attacking our border collie. Some mornings he looks like a clock pendulum. :-) I've felt air moving around my head and heard a little flutter of wings a few times and have suspected him. He's part chicken, only does it to your back. I don't mind the mockingbirds because they are so entertaining, just wish there were fewer of them around here. During our normal dry summer, I keep a large plant tray full of water for them to drink and bath in. They all line up perched on my container plants waiting their turn for the water. G.M. I just like to take photos. If critters are dumb enough to hold still for me, I get a few shots. Last summer when the 4 left the nest they roosted in the holly by the kitchen window. clickable thumbs randy

Donna, thanks for letting her finish with her babies. How big is the entrance hole, if it is a very small one (less than 1&1/2") it is a Wren of some sort. You can go to www.whatbird.com to get an ID. It's hard to tell how long she will take unless you have a good idea of what day they hatch. You will notice a lot more coming and going while she is feeding them. As they get older and are nearing time to leave you will really hear them chirping when Mom comes with food. They should not take longer than 14 days once they hatch (not really sure of Wren timetable). Are your screens removable? if they are it may be a good time to take them down for a good cleaning. I think it will be a challenge for the babies to find the hole, is there any other opening for them to get out? Mom will eventually guide them out but it would be much easier on them if there was a bigger traget.

Oh my, what a quandary! Our bluebirds have been battling HOWR too. But they have defended their territory and protected their 4 eggs. So far so good. The wren was removing nest material before the bluebird eggs were laid, so there was only a minimal amount of pine needles left in there. All the soft grasses had been removed by the #$@% wren. So the bluebird eggs are being incubated, but are nearly touching the wood floor. I've wondered if I should add some soft grasses, but then, I think, Mama knows best. Sometimes it is difficult to know what to do. Surely a wren guard would not help you at this point. Sorry, I'm no help at all. BlueBars

I have a couple of boxes that I never put up because I can't figure out where to put them that predators wouldn't be a problem, And how do you end up with wrens instead of sparrows? They seem to take over every chance they get. That is inspired to put a camera inside the box. Fascinating to watch. At the end I could see the wire out the back, so it's not on batteries. So do you end up with hours of footage that you edit? I would imagine you can see chicks being born and any predator birds or snakes if they show up too.