Baby Wrens

Mary called me at lunch last week. She noticed a bird had made a nest in our garage on a shelf among some spray paint cans. When I got home I went out to get some photos. As I approached the mother bird took off and although I didn't get a good look, I could tell she was a small brown bird with a pointy beak.

I was able to get a few photos, but didn't want to take too long or disturb the mother. The nest was about five feet off the floor and made from leaves and twigs. It looks like the inside is lined with hair, possibly dog fur.

The eggs were white with brown spots and were about 1/2 inch long. There were 6 eggs in the nest.

Mary and I are not bird experts, but we have access to several in our Master Naturalist Chapter. I posted the photos to our Chapter's forum and quickly got an identification.The bird was most likely a Carolina Wren. We looked the bird up in our Peterson bird guide and it looked like the correct identification. We thought it might also be a Bewick's Wren which is very similar, but the Carolina is a bit redder.

I wondered how long they had been there and when they would hatch, but had no clue. These photos were taken on Tuesday, May 11th, so I would just have to keep watching and see when the chicks hatched.

On May 17th, Mary told me that there were now baby wrens in the nest! I took this photo that day, and I think the chicks are less than a day old. As you can see, they only have a few feather tufts on the head and are bare otherwise. They have huge eyes. They're really quite ugly, but in a "cute" way. All six eggs have hatched. I looked up the incubation period for Carolina Wrens and it's about 12 to 14 days, so the eggs were laid in early May, probably around May 3rd. The eggs hatch synchronously, within 24 hours of each other.

The parents coax the young ones out of the nest after 12 to 14 days, so I'll keep an eye on their progress and keep you updated.