Straw vs. Sticks

This isn’t a story of the three little pigs. Rather, this is the saga of the House Wrens versus the Bluebirds. It’s a somewhat sad story. For that reason, I want to make something clear. Although I was a scientist for twenty years (working on Basic Research in Academia, Clinical Research in a Hospital and for most of the time Applied Research and Development in Corporate America,) and while I cannot escape my natural tendency towards reason and logic, this blog space is a reflection of my personal and artistic side, not a professional endeavor. I enjoy posting about events that happen in the natural world around me, but I am not holding myself to a scientific standard of either evaluation or presentation of the information I share. I maintain my right to be both emotional, and incomplete in evidence when I present my personal opinions – and even the “data” (aka material) I communicate.

Like most people, for the first couple of years that we spent in our new house, we slowly added more and more decorations, improvements, landscaping and the like. We installed a 400 gallon “patio pond” in which we have watched koi and mostly common goldfish grow from thumb sized “pets” to pretty dang big animals. We planted trees, shrubs and flowers. We bought a BBQ grill, patio furniture and erected fencing. Most relevant to this story, we put up our first Bluebird box. That all started in 2017. Now, just a few short years later, we have installed twenty nest boxes all over our fifty acre property. Below, you’ll see an illustration of the nest box progress.

I have shared many images of the Bluebird couple that has returned to our backyard for three years in a row. This year I began posting in March, starting with their selection of the box, building it (she does the work while he supervises!), then raising their brood. We even set up trail cams this year to catch them fledging.

This year, we also expanded the boxes to include the rest of the property – not just around the house. Incredibly, I filmed a Bluebird couple near one of the new boxes the following day after we installed them! Since then, a lot has happened. I summed up the progress with the new boxes in a post called We’re Expecting! At that time, I shared that there were nests in three boxes, and eggs in two of those. Then, eleven days later on July 11, I was able to share that the couple in the North Central box in Jaye’s Pasture were clearly feeding their chicks in a post called Hungry Mouths To Feed. I also noted that I had seen the beginning of a Bluebird nest in the East Central box #15. That made me happy because I had seen a Bluebird couple in that general area for a long while, but I didn’t know where they might have a nest. I thought it might be their work.

Earlier, box #15 had been jammed packed with twigs, indicating it’s is occupied by House Wrens. But, truly, there’s no need to even open the box to know a Wren has taken possession. The House Wrens vocalize constantly, typically from the top of the box. They are very obvious about their intentions. They also use so many twigs, that you can see them from six feet away, as they tend to protrude from the hole.

You might ask why I chose to remove the twig nest that the House Wrens had begun. At that time, of the twenty nest boxes we have on our property, nine were taken by House Wrens! This included three boxes around our house. The Bluebird box in the backyard was taken days after those chicks fledged. I posted about that HERE. I posted trail cam video of the Wrens that were using box 9 in our front yard.

I also posted about a Wren couple that moved into one of the Gourd model homes, which was specifically located to draw the House Wrens or other species away from the Bluebird boxes. So, I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t think Wren Lives Matter. Of course they do – just like all Bird Lives Matter!

Box numbers 1, 2, 9, 17, 18 and 19 are all occupied by House Wrens that are raising or have successfully fledged their chicks. When, I began to see twigs in boxes where I had seen Bluebird hanging out, I decided to put on my landlord hat and evict any additional House Wren nests. I truly believe that some of the Wrens actually fill more than one box and then only choose one of them in which to raise a brood. I suspect that box # 19 is owned by the same wrens that occupy box #18.

Just two days after I filmed the new Bluebird parents feeding their chicks in box 13 (North Central), I didn’t see the normal flurry of feeding behavior. In fact, I didn’t see the Bluebirds anywhere around the North Central box. What I did see was a House Wren atop the box, with nesting materials in its beak. When I saw it enter the box, I just drove away. My heart was very sad. There was no way that the Bluebird chicks were still alive if a Wren was entering the box.

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I actually had to refrain from going out there to check on progress for the next few days because I just didn’t want to truly confirm what I already knew had happened. When I went out on July 19th, this is what I saw.

The lovely grass nest which once had baby Bluebirds, was smashed down by the weight of the Wren’s twig nest. I removed it.

Yesterday, July 20, this is what I found. I removed it.

On a brighter note, I found the beginnings of a Bluebird nest in location 14. It had been empty the first few times we checked its status. Then, I found the beginnings of a twig nest and removed it. Now, it has this nest inside, and maybe an egg. I only stuck my camera in, took a shot then left. Looking at the photo, here on my large monitor, it appears there may be an egg, or just some lighting phenomenon that makes me see something light blue. Fingers crossed.

Also, on July 19th, I checked box 15 on the east fence line. I had mentioned in an earlier post, I believe, that I saw a nest in the box. I also have been observing a Bluebird couple traveling between the A field (where I’ve been hanging out trying to catch the Blue Grosbeaks) and that box.

From afar, I have filmed the Bluebirds that fly over to box 15 many times. Sometimes, the male is standing a top the box, on a fence wire and a tree near the box. I experienced the female fly out of the box when I drove up to check the status. It was very exciting to open it to find the following!

Now, the most documented Straw versus Sticks situation has many layers. This is the story of the Sham Paddock Entrance Box (#16.) I have been observing this Bluebird couple frequently because, first, they are always around that box and willing to hold still for a photo.

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There is also a lot of other activity in that zone. I’ve been serenaded by Mockingbirds, watched Eastern Kingbirds, E Phoebes and what I am pretty sure is a Willow Flycatcher hanging out on the various fences and using the open space of the country road to hunt. There’s a Northern Cardinal couple that routinely moves past the nest box from their own nest in a large tree to somewhere that they must find very lucrative for food gathering. There are squirrels that come from the neighbors place across the street which provide some entertainment. The Red-tailed hawk uses the massive tree in the southeast corner of the property – just down the fence from this nest box, too. it’s a happening place, and best of all it’s in a location of my property that I named after my most special dog of all – the one I wrote a BOOK about.

It’s a place filled with good vibes – until it isn’t. While I have seen the Bluebirds work at building a nest, their attempts have been foiled twice by….you guessed it…. House Wrens. Those pesky little critters seem to have no regard for another bird’s labors.

I was so excited the first time we opened the box to see that a lovely grass nest was underway. Then, a day or so later, the House Wrens were moving in and out of that nest box. I took the following photos on July 10, after I expected to wait patiently to see the female exit her nest during incubation. The Bluebirds weren’t around, at first. And, the Wrens were acting as if they had just signed a thirty year mortgage on the dwelling.

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I felt as if the Wrens though they owned the box that, just a couple days earlier I had seen occupied by the Bluebirds. I wondered why the Bluebirds weren’t taking action to protect their turf. The sound of the Wren’s constant, brazen vocalizations were so grating on my nervous system by that time, I wondered why the Bluebirds hadn’t evolved to be equally triggered by the sound – especially since their livelihood was so often jeapardized by the little brown birds.

A half hour after I shot the photos of the wrens moving around, in and out of the box, the female Bluebird arrived in the tree next to the box.

The male Bluebird arrived a few minutes later.

The male flew to the next box and peered inside. One can only guess what he thought when he (maybe) realized that the Wrens had been in his home.

You can see him on the nest box (right) as he looks towards the Wren (left, lower corner.)

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The Wren turns to face the Bluebird.

I can’t say whether the Bluebird recognized the Wren at that time. Then, he entered the box.

The Wren stays in his position, with a seemingly more intense stare.

The Bluebird flipped around and flew at the Wren. In the next photo you can see the Wren flitting off after the Bluebird charged at him.

I removed the nest which had twigs laid on top of it. I didn’t know if the Bluebirds would come back, or not. On July 19, I dared to open the box, and found a partially build Bluebird nest. But, it appears there’s a twig laying on top of it. Sad face.

I took the next photos on July 20th. Check out the first photo – the Wren is leaving, but I realized when I reviewed the enlarged photos at my desktop that there’s a Hairy Woodpecker clinging to the tree branch. I wonder if he sides with the Bluebirds or the Wren on this one! It looks like he showed up with his Referee outfit on.

The Wrens were in and out of the box, but I was filming the unknown Woodpecker species because it was more interesting to me at the time. The Wrens in the Bluebird house made me sick. Here are a few images of the Woodpecker.

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While the Wrens were singing away their praises for what a great home they have, the male Bluebird was just fifteen feet away, eating a worm on the pavement.

And, while the image is out of focus, the female Bluebird was perched in the tree that grows next to the box.

I can only hope that the nest in box #14 sees baby Bluebirds to fruition. I suspect it belongs to the couple that was displaced from the North Central box #13. I look forward to seeing the couple with the eggs in box #15 begin taking snacks for their new hatchlings. And, as for the couple that I have observed more than any of pairs in the pastures, I will keep routing for them to overcome the Wrens. I had an idea this morning that I should offer the Wrens a different box in the general area of the Sham’s Paddock box #16. Perhaps that would provide the needed real estate for all the birds to live to their potential.

I don’t have time to described what has transpired between Bluebirds and House Wrens in box 11. I have to go by that box when I move further onto the property. It is the box I first saw Bluebirds the day after we put up the boxes. I have filmed the bluebirds there many times. And, yet, Wrens have taken over that box, as well. Perhaps in another post I can document that situation. But, for now, it is clear to me that it may take a bit of intervention on my part to support the Bluebirds, and still allow the Wrens to make a living and raise a family. I’m not trying to play God. But, we put out the boxes – so we need to manage them property. I don’t know what is proper, but I know what feels right. That is the best I can do.