Completing The Nest

Continuing from the house wren nest building series from last year...

So once the male has completed building the nest and paired with a female, she will line the nest box with soft things to create a cushion for the eggs. Often females will lay grass, pine needles, feathers and hair (from deer, dogs, etc.) all around the cup of the nest. Sometimes we will find some rather unnatural soft lining materials the female will put in her nest like foam, plastic and ribbon.

After the nest has been lined, eggs are usually on the way. However, when she starts to lay eggs differs for each female. Some females will line the nest and lay an egg the following day. Others can line the nest but it may take a week before the female will lay an egg.

This year, we will follow two pairs of house wrens from when the female lines the nest to the fledging (when the young leave the nest) of their offspring.

The first pair of house wrens live in the territory labeled C2. She lined the nest yesterday, May 12, 2010.

The female has lined the nest with some grass, dried tufts and a couple of feathers. Today she continues to line the nest adding a few more feathers and grasses to the lining of the cup.


Any guesses when she will lay her first egg?