I just spent a whole bunch of time at my laundry room window with my camera, watching the House Wren family. In mid-April, I sent a wish into the universe for wrens to nest in the box Zippy put up beneath the deck (a nest box he found while cleaning out his mother’s home) and then in early June I noted wrens had moved into the nesting box!

For the past week or so, there’s been a clamor coming from that box. A frenzied wall of sound that prompted me to tell Zippy “Sounds like 16 babies in there!” The noise level goes WAY up when a parent arrives with food, causing many spontaneous smiles on our faces. But it wasn’t until today that I went down with my camera and, oh my goodness, what fun! Not only fun, but educational.

First off, all those sounds appear to come from just two babies. (I never saw more than two beaks poking out.)

Second, those wren parents work their butts off.

Not only does a parent bring food every food minutes, but they also remove poop after each feeding. (That was my guess after watching for a while, but I had no idea how it was done.) Per Wikipedia, the nestling produces a fecal sac within seconds of being fed, which the parent removes. The below image isn’t great (click to enlarge), but it does show the sac in the parent’s beak.

 

However, the poop saga doesn’t end there! If the nestling doesn’t produce a fecal sac, the parent will prod around the little one’s hind end (no, that’s not the correct anatomical term) to stimulate excretion. Which explains the next image.

 

After the nestling(s) took the insect, the adult waited a bit and then dove into the nesting box. This only happened the one time, so I’m guessing the little ones were doing a pretty good job of pooping right after eating. Probably not fun having Mom up in their business.

 

At one point, I was baffled by all the sounds I was hearing because neither nestling was visible at the hole. Who was so agitated? And where was the sound coming from? I stared and stared at that hole in the box. Then movement caught my eye and I noticed an adult with a moth in its beak on a timber below the nesting box. It made no sense, but it was clearly the one singing the song because I could see their throat move. Weird, I thought, singing with its mouth full. What’s up with that? And the dancing?

When I described what I’d seen, Zippy suggested that maybe the adult was trying to entice the youngsters to leave the nest. That made perfect sense to me, but a quick online search didn’t turn up any info to support or deny that theory. Either way, it was so delightful watching that tiny bird dance around with an enormous moth in its beak, all the while singing a beautiful song.

That was the most enjoyable laundry room experience I’ve ever had! Thank you, universe, for granting my wish. This wren family is balm for my soul.