| Home page |
Bewick's Wren
B
Bewick’s
Wrens nest in unusual places By
Each
spring I invariably have to evict Bewick’s Wrens (Thryomanes
bewickii ) several times from
my garage, where I keep most of my gardening supplies. Each time I leave
the garage door open for any length of time, they try again. I
always hope the birds understand that I am looking out for their future
young, because I can’t leave the door open for them! Even if I did,
whether or not they plan to use the nest is another question. The male
Bewick’s will sometimes build several “dummy” nests to attract a
mate who will ultimately choose the best location. Then the pair might
disassemble the other nests together, using the materials at the
preferred nest site. Most
years I eventually come upon their alternative nest, either in our
workshop which has several “holes” for easy access, in one of my
birdhouses, or once in a small clay pot on a shelf on my potting bench
just a foot off the ground. They will also nest in natural cavities, in
brush piles, old cars, barrels, or even discarded boots! They use twigs,
grass and leaves to make a deep cup lined with feathers, hair and/or
moss. Bewick’s
Wrens are small (5 ¼”) songbirds with pale gray underpants, brown
back and wings and a long tail with white corners. The tail is held
upright and flicks from side to side and up and down. They have a thin
pointed bill and a long white stripe over they eye. The
diet consists mainly of insects and spiders and they use a ground or
foliage gleaning foraging behavior. A clutch usually consists of 5 to 7
eggs, which the female incubates. Hatch occurs in 12 to 14 days and the
babies leave the nest about 14 days later. Both
parents care for the young, but an interesting fact is that the young
male learns the Bewick’s song before his first winter from the males
on neighboring territory, not from his father. The song of the
Bewick’s Wren, like other wrens, is beautiful. Sibley describes it as
“recalling Song Sparrow with high, clear notes and musical trills
(e.g., zrink zrink oozeeee delzeedle-eedle-ooh tsetetetetetete)”. You
can hear an example at www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Bewicks_Wren.html#sound. So
before you throw those worn out boots in the trash, consider stashing
them on a shelf in one of your outbuildings and watch for the Bewicks’
family to move in!
|
