Since we’ve moved here, we’ve had lots of House Wrens in the yard, but rarely do we see or hear Carolina Wrens. We do occasionally hear them during the winter.
This year, we've been hearing them calling from various parts of the yard, but rarely see them
A month ago, I regularly heard one in the back section amongst a stand of White Pine trees. So I put a Carolina Wren nest box back there. But when I later checked, a House Wren had claimed it.
We've had 2 Carolina nest boxes attached to the house for about 5 years, but they've never been used.
Over the last week of so, I've been regularly hearing a Carolina Wren calling up by our patio, but again, haven't seen it.
Today I checked one of the nest boxes attached to the house and, lo and behold, there was a nest in there, but no eggs. It was definitely NOT a House Wren nest with sticks.
So I setup in the house to watch for a while and sure enough, a Carolina Wren is carrying nesting material and building a nest. Hurrah! Seems kinda late for starting a nest, doesn’t it? Cornell Ornithology says they raise 1-3 broods.
I have always wondered if the reason we didn’t have Carolina Wrens was whether they would co-exist with House Wrens or not. Well this nest box is about 25 ft from an active House Wren nest box, so I guess they’re ok with each other.
This nest box is in a perfect location to observe it, attached to the house, right by the patio, behind a hanging basket and visit from inside the house.
