We have a pair of birds nesting in a hanging planter right outside the back door. The birds looked like Nuthatchers at first glance, and spent a lot of time making a mounded nest with small amounts of fluffy material. Both birds seemed to participate and we were happy to see that they settled in and layed some brown speckled eggs. A cowbird became very interested in the nest and I had to shoo the bird away several times....I heard that they lay eggs in other bird's nests and let the others incubate the eggs for them, unbeknownst to the original nesting pair.
I was so excited about our birds that I read all about their habits and was perplexed by the fact that they weren't doing the normal Nuthatcher behavior. They left after the cowbird episode, and didn't return for a few days as far as I could tell. Then, suddenly they returned, looking like they were ready to nest again, bringing more fluffy stuff for their nest. I scared them out of the nest the other day when I had to water the plant, and they were scolding me from the back fence for quite a while. They are very loud!
Today I had some time on my hands, so I decided to take another look at them, since they have been back consistantly, and I was surprised to find that they were Wrens, not Nuthatchers. I narrowed them down using Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds and then went on a website called "all about birds". It had pictures, behavior, and even each bird's song! I was able to determine that they were Carolina Wrens by their coloring, habits, and song. Love the internet! It was great to see that they behaved exactly as described, and I hope they have chicks hatching soon because they are so loud. The male is the only songbird, and he sits right outside the planter and sings away most of the day.
