Fledgling Caroliina Wren story

Many years ago, we replaced the door between our garage and the outside with a door that had a cut out for a dead bolt. We couldn't install a dead bolt, so we left that hole open and about 5 years ago the Carolina Wren's found it and have used the garage as a giant nest box ever since. Yesterday, this year's crop fledged. If you've ever seen fledgling birds, you know that they fly fairly well, but they can't control where they stop or how they land. We saw all of the babies out of the nest as we left last night for a gym visit. Because of the size and location of the hole, we opened the door to make it easier for the babies to get outside. Tonight when I pulled into the garage, I hear a baby calling and was worried about it possibly getting stuck in all of the stored stuff. It, of course, stopped calling when I looked for it, so I opened the back door and moved to the far side of the garage. The little one quickly jumped out, but was heading deeper into the garage. I herded it outside to a shrub and closed the door. Then I moved to a window where I could watch. It wasn't more than 30 seconds before both parents flew over and showed the youngster to safety. That was a great ending for what was certainly a very challenging day in that youngster's life.

Typically I would not have tuned in to your story but being about the lovable little wren I had to see what you had to say. I was lucky enough to grow up living next to my grandparents and fondly remember my grandmother always showing me "her" wrens in the springtime and carrying on about them. To this day and I'm sure for the rest of my life they are a bird that brings back very fond memories. Thanks Mark.

I wish I could share a cute story. Mine involves a Carolina Wren who insists in nesting in the grille of my truck. First I tried moving the nest to a bush next to where I park. That didn't work. Overnight, she rebuilt in the grille. Next I put an old mailbox next to the truck and "seeded it" with food and nesting materials. I loved the idea of the mailbox, but obviously she had other ideas. I removed the nest again (I DO have to drive the truck) and no
w have to tape over the grille every time we get home and park it. I am trying to be gentle and humane and it kills me to disturb the nest, especially when she abandons FIVE eggs. Any ideas on how to change her behavior would be appreciated!!

It's probably to late, but one thing you could have tried was moving the nest with the eggs into the mailbox and moving the truck (or covering the grill) for a day or two. Does your grill have a small opening for her to squeeze through? If the mailbox didn't have a similar hole, it may not have seemed like it provided as much security.

That's precisely what I did, and she never returned to the nest. The only difference was that the mailbox was about 18 inches lower than the grille (which actually has a larger opening than I left in the mailbox. I am in the process of making a half dozen wren houses for the next go around! Thanks, Mark.