After the egg/nest debacle from 10 days ago, I've been anxiously watching the comings and goings of Mama Carolina Wren.
You may remember that I thought the eggs were no longer viable after being in the nest for a month, and I put them in the trash. Til I realized that there were more eggs than when I'd first looked - meaning she'd laid another clutch that might be viable. I wrote about that ordeal in a previous post, put the nest and eggs back very carefully and crossed my fingers.
Last night when I was walking into the house through the garage, I thought I heard the tiniest squeak coming from the nest. I stopped and listened - nothing. But later I saw the hat (and nest) swaying just a bit and wondered again if something was going on in there.
Mama Wren was sitting high up on the eggs, and fairly visible to me, whereas before she was far down in the nest on the eggs where I couldn't see her.
So I took a peek when she was out of the nest.
What a wonderful sight - a tiny little creature - just born - wiggling around down among the other eggs. If you look very closely (maybe click on the photo to enlarge it) you can make out the face on the new baby.
Honestly, after all this watching and waiting, I felt like I was the Mama!
This morning I took a picture when Mom and Dad were gone -- they are both now working on feeding duty.
Hatching can take 24-48 hours and there are 6 more eggs in the nest. Some may be from the first clutch, and not viable, but our new little friend might be getting some siblings over the next few days.
And you can bet I'll be watching (from a respectable distance)!
What a wonderful story,Diana. I did read your post about throwing the nest away and am so glad things are working out. Mama and Papa wrens are so very busy as they feed their babies...I witnessed that here, too. I never saw the babies fledge, though, and wished I'd seen that happen! Hope you'll get to witness more babies arrivals and maybe even the fledging, too;-)
ReplyDeleteHow Sweet! Our little babies have now left the nest so we can reclaim the charcoal grill! :) I posted a picture of them that I took 2 days before they flew the coup. It's on my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.silverspringacres.blogspot.com/
Wow! The miracle of life. That tiny little pink thing is alive and viable and will soon be an adult. I'm in awe of how God made the world.
ReplyDeleteSuper!
ReplyDeleteOh Diana that's wonderful news! I hope the little one gets some brothers and sisters soon and that you get to experience the joy of watching them grow and leave the nest as I was able to do recently.
ReplyDeleteAwww -- it is fun to see baby birds in their nest, just hatched. So glad this is a happy ending.
ReplyDeletethrilling! here's hoping there are more coming . . . ! :)
ReplyDeleteJan -- It's such a relief to see the baby. And the parents are very busy flying in and out.
ReplyDeleteCarol - My neighbor had a squirrel start a nest in her grill and she took it out and the squirrel has been tormenting her ever since!
Abbey - It is pretty amazing. I'm still waiting to see if any other eggs hatch.
lleller - Such a relief!
Jayne - I probably won't be here to see it fledge, but I hope someone here at the house can take pictures if they catch it!
Janet - I'm having fun watching the cliff swallow babies fly all around with their parents. They don't fully leave the nest for about a week, so we get to enjoy watching them for a while.
KrisCard - Just so glad I didn't ruin it all!