Another Update on the Second Wren Brood

I estimated that the second Carolina Wren brood would fledge on July 22nd.

I checked the nest on July 19th and the 4 wren chicks were still in the nest. When I checked again on the morning of the 20th, they were gone. The only thing remaining was the sole unhatched egg and it was slightly outside the nest, on the shelf upon which the whole nest rested. I took the egg and held it up to the light. It appears to be uniformly translucent, so I don't think it was ever fertilized.

Here's a photo of the egg with a scale, so you can get an idea of how large the eggs are. They're really quite small - about 5/8" inch on the long axis. The adult birds are about 5 to 6 inches long, but that includes tail feathers. They stand about 4 inches high.

After discussion with Mary, we're not sure what happened. At first I thought that the chicks fledged early or my estimate was off.

However, when the first brood fledged, we continued to see the young wrens around the garage as they became comfortable with their new flying ability. This time, we haven't seen them. The nest doesn't look disturbed, but we wonder if a predator got them.

It's sad to think that they might not have made it, but that too is a course that nature can take. I hope they fledged and that there are now four more Carolina Wrens in our back yard, but we'll never know for sure.