A Wren's Tale

It was in mid March of 2014, that when I entered the garden shed to retrieve a tennis racquet, I was startled to find an adult Wren perched next to me, who quickly disappeared down the side where the wood has rotted away.  I then noticed that a small nest had started to be constructed in the arch at the back of the shed.  Throughout the beginning of Spring, I monitored the progress of the Wrens, who entered the shed through the slight gap in the roof.  It was a most surprising record because very few if any Wrens have been present in my garden for over three years.  After a while, the birds stopped sining so frequently, and one day, as I happened to glance into the shed, I found the female incubating a clutch of eggs.  Then in mid May on a very hot day, I looked in and to my delight saw two freshly hatched chicks, their mouths open as a means of cooling down.  The adult had the warring task of feeding them and although there may have been a third chick, only two were seen at one time.  The date of fledging is unknown when as I knew the nest was vacated, I took it down, and I marvelled at the intricacy and delicate way it was built.  The inside was smoothed down with Woodpigeon feathers and moss, whilst the outside was essentially Bamboo form the plant in the garden.

Wren's nest from 2014

I began to wonder then whether the same bird would occupy the nest the following year.  On the 29th of March earlier this year, I happily noted that they had indeed begun to build a new nest in exactly the same place as last year.  The female began incubating on the 17th of May with the first hatched chick noticed on the 22nd of the same month.  On the 28th a second chick was present and on the 30th another two were seen.  Then on the 4th of June, I heard noises coming from the shed and saw that one of the Wrens had fledged and was trying to escape.  With some coaxing from myself, he went down the side and out into the hedge.  With all the excitement, I did not notice that the ethers had begun to fledge too, so after about 5 minutes, there was about 4/5 chicks on the floor around me.  Fortunately they managed to fly up to the top of the fence, sit there until they could fly more effectively and then flew into my neighbours hedge where their parents were calling.  One by one each chick did the same, anxiously calling for their parents.  After 10 minutes, all had successfully fledged and had joined their parents.  Not a bad days work!

Newly fledged Wren

Wren fledgling on the fence

It was today that, after I was certain no more broods were hatched, I took the new nest down to have a look.  Its appearance was slightly different than the last, more of an arch than a full circle.  It was then that I noticed two tiny unhatched eggs in the bottom.  They had obviously not been incubated enough back in May and had not come to anything.  It was striking that they were barely as big as a Daisy.

The new nest fro 2015

One of the two eggs found

Size comparison with Daisy

Amazing how such tiny eggs would result in 4 or 5 healthy and much larger chicks- another successful year for them.  This Christmas, I will hopefully buy an infra-red camera in order to put inside the shed and see them in more detail if they breed there again.  But will they?  We shall just have to wait and see!