Wren Observations

I have spent the better part of the day for the last few weeks observing the behaviour of a pair of Superb Fairy Wrens nesting outside my windows. Right now the time for the nestlings to turn into fledglings is fast approaching. Hopefully I will also be there for the event, but as this is something that only takes place once and I am worried I might miss it.  I will however share some of my observations with you.

Last year I followed a single pair breeding in one of my grasses. There was only one pair, a male and a female involved.

But this time from the start there were two males in breeding colours and two females . Over the last weeks from the construction of the nest until now I followed and observed them intensely. I know have learned how to differentiate between the different calls the adults make telling the adults that they are approaching, to the noises the adults made earlier to teach the young that they were coming closer. Their posture and the vibrating of the tail accompanying the signalling of the approach. Also the sounds the adult birds make when they are still a fair distance away but notifying the adult bird on “lookout” that they are arriving.

The pattern of the feeding always (!) followed the same sequence. One of the male birds sitting on a branch in the nearest shrub, then moving closer to the nest to sit on a perch, watching the nest and defending against any intruders.

Then the next , male or female bird approached , signalling their arrival from a distance . That bird landed in the same spot the guarding bird had vacated when the bird with the food got closer. This exact ritual was repeated over and over, hardly ever changed unless an intruder entered the territory and needed to be evicted.

Only today changed that repeated behaviour to a more frequent and erratic feeding pattern, which makes me think the young are close to emerging. The feeding was a lot faster and for the first time I heard a loud response from the nestlings on the adult’s approach.

There was a lot more I observed, like the killing of the Baby Yellow Robin that ventured too close to the wren’s nest. I also observed the adults defending the nest against other intruders. At first the attendant male tried to chase the other bird away, if that didn’t work the second male came to help, but also one of the females if needed.

See what tomorrow brings? If you are interested and not too bored yet, should I be there I will report.