![]() |
![]() |
#11 | ||
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
|
![]() Quote:
Quote:
I had house wrens, that some how disappeared--never causing me (or the bluebirds) any problems...just a little worry about having attracted them and ruining my chances for more bluebirds. I'm assuming a predator got them or something--I can't imagine that they'd lay eggs and abandon them. I've heard that they build dummy nests to fill in all of the potential nesting sites--but I've never heard of laying eggs in them. Anyway, they never returned--and hopefully they will not again. Tineckbone used to say that he didn't want to favor one native creature over another... I'm trying to view the house wren's behavior as part of nature--a lot of behaviors in nature bother me--but I'd still rather avoid having them return.
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#12 | |
Great Horned Owl
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Northeastern MA
|
![]() Quote:
I think it's time for a Cooper or Sharp-shinned hawk to make a visit here for a small meal... I had a Carolina wren coming to my feeders over the winter, but then he went his way. I even find the house wren's song annoying now.
__________________
"Know thyself." Oracle at Delphi |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#13 | |
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
|
![]() Quote:
It was my understanding that one could remove a nest--but not a nest with eggs in it...this does not apply to non-native birds such as house sparrows. I had a Carolina wren sporadically come to my feeder this year. I love them. I also love their song; I remember my sister putting up a bluebird house on the 3/4 acre we grew up on...all it attracted was the Carolina wren; we didn't have the right habitat for bluebirds. They have a very cheerful song. I'm not even sure what the house wren's song sounds like...and, being that I don't want to deal with attacks on other nestlings, I hope I don't find out.
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#14 | ||
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
|
![]() Quote:
Thank you for stating that so succinctly--not my strong point. ~smirk~ I hate to kill anything, so it is hard (was harder when I was little) to accept that part of nature, but that is nature. I tried to explain that earlier. However, I may do my best not to attract this species to our property, so I don't have to witness the behavior. Quote:
I understand how you feel...at the same time I'm trying to think of it this way: I can't blame a spider for eating a butterfly instead of a housefly. What about the bluebirds that feed their young all sorts of insects (some of which we assign a negative/gross factor to as well as those that we think of as pretty). I'm not saying that I have an answer. I too feel strongly for anything that is suffering. It is a horrible end to a wonderful experience you were witnessing. You've really made me think... I'm not sure I can say that I'm "mad at" house sparrows and European starlings for out competing the native bluebird--and the attacks that house sparrows make, killing the young or even the adult birds. However, I am mad at those who brought from their native range to the North America...although, I am not sure they really foresaw what they were doing. With all of the evidence against bringing species outside of their native range (and away from the predators that keep them in check), I get very mad at people who continue to refuse to learn from those mistkakes.
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#15 |
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
|
![]()
By the way, great pics Sage.
![]()
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#16 | |
Great Horned Owl
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Northeastern MA
|
![]() Quote:
Now, on your analogy between the spider and the wren, the spider kills to live and gain nourishment. What the hell is the wren doing it for? I mean - to a chickadee??? He didn't eat those chicks; he killed them and left them there to rot.
__________________
"Know thyself." Oracle at Delphi |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#17 | ||
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
|
![]() Quote:
I'm not sure that I'd say it is unsupportable. From an emotional standpoint I agree completely--and we humans are emotional beings. I still feel for you and the chicks parents; I'd have been devastated and angry too. I also, am trying to avoid attracting the house wrens, because I don't want to witness that myself. I also don't tend to watch all that is reported in the news--I have to be aware of what is going on, but I don't have to be bombarded with all of the suffering (especially when it is not balanced out by the good that is happening). Quote:
Hmm...good point. I guessing that the wren is trying to avoid competition for insects to feed their young...and future competition of their progeny with the progeny of the chickadees. It still doesn't make me feel any better about the behavior or the bird. I am still not very fond of blue jays since finding out as a kid about their bullying behaviors.
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#18 | |
Great Horned Owl
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Northeastern MA
|
![]() Quote:
There is now only one box left in the yard (a new chickadee one that I purchased on Amazon this past winter). I'll take that down as soon as the wren chicks fledge and then call it quits for a season on bird houses. BTW, I avoid the local violent news whenever possible too. We live in a violent world, though. The closer one looks at the natural world, the more one sees what a bloodbath it is, from the arthropods on up. Even the plants wreak havoc on one another!!
__________________
"Know thyself." Oracle at Delphi |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#19 | ||||
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
|
![]() Quote:
Quote:
![]() Quote:
Quote:
![]()
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
||||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#20 |
Grub
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Minnesota
|
![]()
wow thats interesting. This year I have a pair of chickadees nesting in a house that the House Wrens had been using the past few years (the house wrens moved into a diff house other side of the garden). I havent noticed them really interacting with eachother but itll be something to look into and keep an eye out for.
__________________
Wildlife of Suburbia |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Tags |
bird, bird behavior, chickadee, chickadees, competition, eggs, fledge, fledging, house, insects, nest, predator, wren, wrens |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|