Here are 3 more photos of the Carolina Wren chicks at days 8, 10, and 12. It's interesting to see them developing.
On day 8, their eyes are beginning to open and their feathers are mostly black.
On day 10, their eyes are fully open and their feathers are turning brown.
On day 12, they're starting to look like adult wrens. You can see the white stripe above the eye. They're noticeably larger, too. The nest is looking pretty crowded. They are almost ready to fly.
The baby wrens finally fledged on Sunday, May 30th. By my reckoning, this was day 14 after they hatched, which agrees with what I read about their development time line.
My last photos of them were on Friday, May 28th or day 12. I did take a photo of the empty nest, just for completeness. I checked on them Saturday morning and they were still in the nest and also when I checked in the evening.
I checked on them Sunday morning and they were still there. When I checked in the afternoon, however, they were all gone.
I've seen them flying around inside and around the garage. It seems they're still learning their way because they look a bit clumsy, especially when landing. I also noticed that I'm seeing them less and less, so I think as they gain ability and confidence, they're roaming farther.
I'm glad I got to follow their development. It's something I never before had a chance to do and I learned quite a bit. Their average lifespan in the wild is about 6 years, and I'm sure I'll see them around.
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