HELP! ?carolina wren? built nest in topsy tomato planter

[bubbleoffplumb]

I have 2 "topsy tomato planters" on my roof mainly 'cause

(a) only place that gets 6- 8 hours of sun
(b) lotsa black walnuts below
(c) I'm a little weird



I saw the (what I think is a) c. wren earlier today hangin' out on top of one of 'em - next I see gathering and nest building behavior.
I went out on the roof to check and noticed a great deal of leaf litter had been added to the top of the planter under the "lid"

-

and then of course I noticed the nest.



One of the wrens was (understandably so) making quite a ruckus about my whereabouts.

In a perfect world they could have their nest and I would be able to water my tomatoes with no harm done, but I have a feeling that's not very likely.



any suggestions? - maybe my presence on the roof was enough for them to head elsewhere for their building? Would the nest be inhabitable with my regular waterings? thoughts?

[bridget1964]

Wow, that is a tough one. Have you thought about just letting that plant 'bite the dust' and allow the wrens to raise their brood?

I doubt that you scared them off. They are rather aggressive nest builders and are not easily deterred.

ps. I'm a little weird, too.

[benj1]

Seems to me if you can water through the side away from the nest, and not shift the lid around, they should be fine. They do like to nest in man-made cavities, and they don't always make the best choices.

[BooBooBearBecky]

bubbleoffplumb,
I had to let you know that the "topsy tomato planter wren nest" gave me my giggle of the day. Especially the pictures! Wow what a creative mama wren bird!

Suggestion: Make a tiny slit in the side of the planter, stick a tiny plastic funnel in the slit. Water tomatoes via small funnel while distracting mother wren with bird seed.

[Teresa]

Just water away from the nest.
Wrens tolerate a great deal of human disturbance as long as it's slow-moving and regular.

Last Summer Jenny Wren decided to nest right in the nesting-supply box we'd put on our front porch.
Regular visits from the kids and I were tolerated unless we got so close (less than a foot away) that she feared the emergency exit would be blocked.
Once she starts incubating, she and the babies will be gone in less than a month!
(I posted a picture of her somewhere here on WG)

[bubbleoffplumb]

thank you ALL for the suggestions.
I had been watering w/ hose from below (water "raining" on lid) and just recently decided to do a good soaking from above.
I certainly could continue watering from above and avoid the hole above the nest -
better yet - I love the funnel idea! I would have to funnel from above, tho.
and I will certainly leave the lid alone.

not sure if this is the same (year-round, by the way) couple that has nested in the old(er than me, probably) falling apart air conditioning unit on the other side of the house.

Teresa, I was very surprised at how short incubation and hatch to fledge time is.

found this:
Carolina Wrens
and of course, this:
Carolina Wren, Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

and one more...
Carolina Wren's Nest
and if you scroll down to "Unusual Places Where Carolina Wrens Have Nested", you'll see my two entries shortly.
My favorite on the list is "The pocket of a pair of overalls, hanging on the line"

I knew I could count on you folks!
thanks again

[Equilibrium]

This is a crack up. The nest in the overalls takes the cake. I’d leave the nest alone too. I did a quick look up of wren facts, Signs of Spring: Report Your Observations! and found this, “eggs take 13-15 days to hatch. The nestlings remain in the nest for 15-17 days.” Look on the bright side…. no more than 30 days of creative watering.