Birds of Bartow County ~ The Dark Side of House Wrens

The House Wren is a small (only 4  3/4" in length) common songbird across the US and into parts of Canada and South America.  Talk about a singer....the male sings his head off when trying to attract a mate and advertising to others his chosen territory. Listen to their song Here .

Recently, I woke-up and knew by the singing that a male had laid claim to my yard. I checked this unused bird houses and sure enough....he had been busy. After inserting a few more twigs the male left and I have to admit I am happy that he did.

For all their good qualities such as eating bad insects and being entertaining singers....these birds have a Dark Side. They will peck holes in the eggs of other nesting songbirds, throw nestlings out of a nest, and kill adult nesting birds that are much larger then themselves. In some areas nesting  Bluebirds and Tree Swallows have taken a big hit from this small powerhouse of a bird. 

As an Eastern Bluebird landlord I really don't want this native bird nesting near my Blues. So...how do you deter House Wrens without harming them? They are native birds and are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act .  I disabled my "decorative" bird houses. A few I moved indoors and enjoy them as art and others I plugged up the entrance hole. (It's not a good idea to allow any native bird to nest in a "decorative" bird house. They can fall apart at the wrong time...and lose eggs or chicks. I learned this the hard way years ago with an Eastern Bluebird nest.) Careful placement of nestboxes will help. House Wrens like nesting close to wooded areas. I will relocate the shown nestbox to a more open area.  The Discouraging House Wrens  page on the informative Sialis website has more great tips.

I love comments and welcome any birding questions. Also let me know if you would like your favorite bird featured. 

Happy Birding! 

Jean is a Host on Birds & Blooms Magazine’s Community Forums:http://www.birdsandblooms.com/ and is the lone bird crazy author of the Blog The Joy of Bird Watching and Living a Simple Life: http://jean-livingsimple.blogspot.com/