LEAVING THE NEST, IT’S SCARY!

Young House Wrens leaving the nest

It has been already a week ago but I still like to share this little photo story with you. This is already the third brood of House Wrens that was a successful one this summer season in one of the nest boxes around the house. When the parents think it is time for the offspring to leave the nest they still bring food, like caterpillars, crickets, or bugs but they wait outside the nest box without feeding the little chicks inside. When the first one stuck more than its head out of the hole I knew the time was coming and made the camera ready. Number one didn’t hesitate very long and flew into the bushes nearby after about five minutes. Number two, the one on the right hand side in the picture, waited a few minutes longer, despite the parents called and tried to lure the little guy away from the nest. Well, the desire to eat made the chick finally jump, but only onto the little perch that sticks out of the nest box. There was fear about what’s coming next and he tried to climb back into the box. But no way, number three was already there and the entrance was blocked. Oh boy, after a few seconds of balancing on the wooden stick the young wren finally followed the parents into the woods. Number three didn’t hesitate very long and the nest box was empty.

It’s still early in the season and we hear again a couple male House Wrens around here sending calls out to attract another female. It has been a good breeding season so far, not just for the wrens. We see many young birds around here in the woods and that’s a good thing to write about and to capture it with our photos.

NATURE CLICKS #581 - HOUSE WREN DELIVERS

It has been a successful breeding season for most of the birds here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley so far. We have seen young birds from almost all species that call this area their home and also from some of the migrating birds.

As every year, several House Wrens had nests in the bird boxes we provide and the chicks of two successful broods have left the nests already. This male wren with a spider in its bill helps to feed another bunch of nestlings at the moment. I don’t know yet how many of the little guys are in the nest but hopefully will find out when they start to stick their heads out of the box in front of the house. The female flies in probably a little more often with food, but the male watches the nest and distracts potential predators with its loud melodious calls and chatters. The frequency of how often the House Wrens bring more food tells us that there is no lack of insects or spiders this year, with its wet and warm summer so far.

I shot this picture during a time with an overcast last weekend and used a little hint of soft flash to fill in on the bird while it approached carefully the nest.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light, Westscott Magnetic diffusion dome

CARING PARENTS

Male Eastern Bluebird with food in its bill, observing the environment before entering the nearby nest box. @ 850 mm, 1/320 s, f/9, ISO 2000, photo slightly cropped.

We have quite a few stories going on here with birds building a nest or having it already and feed their young ones somewhere around the house. Not for the first time a pair of American Robins built it right on our balcony and they are very busy since a few days, stuffing food into four hungry bills that stick out of the nest.

In the backyard is a bluebird nest box but the last couple years the more aggressive House Wrens took it over and the bluebirds had no chance. Finally this season a pair of Eastern Bluebirds were able to incubate and now the parents started feeding their offspring. How many bird babies are in the nest? We don’t know yet and we do our best not to disturb the birds.

@ 600 mm, 1/400 s, f/7.1, ISO 1000, photo slightly cropped.

I placed myself with the tripod next to some bushes beside our house and wanted to blend in as much as possible. The bluebirds did not hesitate to fly with food to the nest, a sure sign they accepted my presence and didn’t see me as a danger. They land first in a nearby tree and observe the environment of the nest box before they actually enter the entrance hole. The first photo was made at such a perch and I used the 1.4 teleconverter plus a little bit of cropping in post process to keep a safe distance. No picture justifies a threat to the life and well being of an animal.

NATURE CLICKS #572 - EASTERN BLUEBIRDS

Male Eastern Bluebird. Their vibrant blue feathers during breeding season are easy to spot between the trees, even under low light conditions.

Shortly after our return from Oregon I saw a pair of Eastern Bluebirds inspecting a nest box I have built for this particular species a couple years ago. I saw both, the female and the male last weekend again and my hopes grow that they may take possession of the place and built a nest. The biggest competitors are the House Wrens and the first one has already arrived. Last year a male wren stuffed a lot of loose little twigs and branches into the hole and as I later found out, all on top of a bluebird nest. The wrens are much more aggressive and the bluebirds had no chance. We have several bird boxes for the House Wrens but they have their own mind and choose whatever place they like the best. Since we had a breeding pair of Eastern Bluebirds in 2020 in another nest box I still hope it will happen again.

The colors of the female are much more subdued. After a male has attracted a female to his nest site, the female actually builds the nest. Both parents feed the brood.

BUSY BLUEBIRDS

Female Eastern Bluebird

There was some hope a few weeks ago that we may have a pair of Eastern Bluebirds building a nest in a special nest box I provided for them. They tried, but we have a number of House Wrens here in the woods and the males are pretty aggressive and kick any other bird out of a cavity if it is within their claimed territory. So, no bluebird nest again this year in our backyard. I never mind seeing the wrens raising their offspring but it would be nice having young bluebirds as well. Luckily my photography friend Kevin has a pair of bluebirds again this year in one of the nest boxes he installed near his house and he invited me for a shooting session while the parents fed the offspring in the nest last weekend.

Male bluebird, checking the surroundings before entering the nest box

There were some interesting observations to be made. During the whole time, more than an hour, the female didn’t feed the young birds at all. She had food available and in its bill and seemed to act as a backup. The male flew in and kept feeding the brood from time to time. I saw the female swallowing a caterpillar and coming back quickly with another one, but she never entered the nest box. I’m not sure if she gave some of her catch to the male, but he was the only bird feeding their offspring.

Kevin and I had plenty of opportunities making a photo of the female bird while she posed nicely on a branch near the nest box. The males are a lot more colorful but the busy bird flew most of the time directly to the wooden box, checked the surrounding area for any possible danger, and quickly went into the entrance hole. Good times as always, and my thanks go out to Kevin for giving me the opportunity for this photo shoot!

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

NATURE CLICKS #559 - EASTERN BLUEBIRD

This story started already last year, when I built a bird box that was especially designed for bluebirds. The Eastern Bluebird is a cavity nester that may use an old woodpecker hole in a tree or post but nest places became a hot commodity after more aggressive birds, like European Starlings and House Sparrows, became more widespread in the last century. Last year one of our House Wrens used the box for a nest. The bluebirds had no chance.

I photographed this male already while it came to one of our bird baths a few days ago and I became more excited when I saw it again yesterday flying into the entrance hole of the bird box with some nesting material. The nest is mainly built by the female but the males carry bits and pieces in and out of the box to attract a female. Once the female enters the box with the male the bond is established. I haven’t seen the female yet but my hope to have an active nest in this new bird box is growing.

Today’s photo was made right out of my office window on the second floor during the early evening. I had the 1.4 teleconverter between the Sigma 150-600 S and the camera and used the full focal length of 850 mm. The tree is across from the bird box, with some open space between, and the bluebird had obviously a good eye on it. He was cleaning his feathers after I made the first click and the bird gave me about 3 minutes to work with it.

DISCUSSING BLUEBIRDS

Tonight the Dubuque Audubon Society had a program about bluebirds. Jessica Carryer from the Joe Davis Conservation Foundation over in Illinois discussed everything from habitat, how to monitor a bluebird nest box, to all other aspects of conservation of this beautiful bird species with the audience. It was very interesting and gave me and other members of the Audubon Society new ideas for our own conservation efforts.

I thought this was a good reason to present you another photo from a shooting in July with my photography friend Kevin, who is also very active building and monitoring bluebird nest boxes.

This male Eastern Bluebird tried to lure the nestlings out of the box with a good size insect in its bill, but he little guys were not ready to leave that day. The location of Kevin’s bluebird box was perfect. The birds liked it obviously and it was very “photography friendly”, which allowed us to shoot with natural light from a safe distance, and without a bright sky or distracting background.

CARING BLUEBIRDS

Most of the time the parents call from different locations, either in nearby trees or from the top of the nest box. When both of them sat at this branch, it was only a question what bird to focus on. The female with an insect in its bill was the right choice.

The young Eastern Bluebirds in the nest box at my photography friend Kevin were almost ready to leave three days ago. I’m thankful that he called me and I still had a chance to take some pictures of the parent birds while they tried to lure the offspring out of the nest. Luckily they left not before the next day. It was a great setup with a small branch carefully placed not far from the nest box. Both parents waited sometimes several minutes with some food in their bill and quietly called the four nestlings.

The colorful male bluebird calls and lures with a little grub.

I used the 1.4 teleconverter, extending the focal length to 850 mm and allowing me to keep a safe distance to the nest. We did this last year at a different location in Kevin’s yard with the blue sky as a background. This year the green background of vegetation works actually much better for bluebirds and as a result I had a very high keeper rate. Thank you Kevin for arranging a great photo opportunity again!

The female is not as colorful but obviously found the bigger piece of food for the nestlings, a good size grasshopper.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,

NATURE CLICKS #507 - BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER (AND MORE)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

The Metadata of my picture library reveal that we have never seen a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at the height of the summer here in our woods. Occasionally I had one in late spring or very early summer in front of the lens. They move very fast up and down on the outer branches and shrubs in search for all kinds of small insects and spiders. This makes taking a sharp image that shows the whole bird a big challenge. You can’t really shoot from a tripod because it would make following the bird’s moves impossible. Changing position constantly and handholding the camera with the long lens is the best option as far as I’m concerned.

This bird is either a female or a juvenile that was born earlier this breeding season. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers can built up to seven nests during one season and have 1-2 broods. There are many reasons for nest loss or brood failure, from parasitism or mite infestation to predation.

Young House Wrens, ten hours before leaving the nest

By the way, our young House Wrens, I had posted about yesterday, Ieft the gourd with the nest this morning at sunrise. I saw the last one jumping into some house plants that we keep on the porch during the summer. Later I heard their chatter in the nearby woods. I hope they all will make it! The male House Wren is already on courtship again and tries to attract a female to one of the other nest boxes. All seasons during a year have exciting moments. The wrens leaving the nest is always one of them!

JOGGING FOR BEST POSITION

House Wren feeding

As always, this time of the year the young House Wrens are jogging for the best position at the entrance of the nesting place the parents have chosen. This time it is an old gourd that hangs from the edge on the side of our porch since many years. The wrens have used it before. The nearby wooden nest boxes we have in the front yard are not used at the moment, but might if another brood will happen this summer. I saw at least three nestlings and it will not take long until they leave the hollow pumpkin. The parents feed every few minutes and the prey they deliver into the hungry bills gets a little bigger every day.

I try to stay away from the nest while taking my pictures and employ the long lens at 600 mm focal length and crop a little bit in addition. It was too dark under the roof of the porch this evening and the speed light was used towards the ceiling to bounce some light at the birds.

It isn’t the only pair of House Wrens that feed their offspring around here. There is another brood in a nest box behind the house and we can hear some chatter from our neighbors backyard as well. We are happy to have them here every summer.

LAST DAY IN THE NEST

I’m glad I created these pictures of our House Wrens yesterday morning. When the food the parents bring to the young wrens gets really big, like this moth, we know the time the offspring will leave the nest is near. I saw at least three young wrens jockey for the “window spot” and for the best meals. Well, they left the nest box yesterday evening. Unfortunately I wasn’t there when it happened. It was the second successful brood for the House Wrens in one of our nest boxes this year. But who knows what happens next? We have several pairs in our neighborhood and during some years we witnessed fledglings leaving the nest last week of August…

FEEDING THE SECOND BROOD

Male House Wren (German: Zaunkönig) waiting for his turn to feed the offspring with a good size spider

Our House Wrens are currently feeding their second brood. The little wrens grow rapidly and started making noise in the nest box. The parents are great, coming in with spiders, caterpillars, and insects every few minutes. The first brood this year was successfully raised already in June and behind the house, at another nest box, is a second wren couple busy feeding their offspring. The warm weather we had lately provides an abundance of supply for the little birds and we just enjoy watching them from our porch during “cocktail hour” in the evening.

1/40 s, f/6.3, ISO 200, @ 600 mm, -1/3 EV, flash -5.0 EV; with Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender;

OUT OF THE HOUSE

Today around 10:30AM I heard the House Wrens intensively calling while I worked in my office. They just didn’t deliver any food to the nest box in the flower bed of our front yard anymore. I ran downstairs and saw #1 leaning out of the hole but still hesitating. I knew immediately that the time was right and that the little chicks would follow the calls of their parents and leave the nest. The camera was already in position on the porch, ready to shoot.

At 10:37AM #1 finally jumped out of the upper hole, tried briefly to hang on to the wall of the box, and landed on the perch of the lower hole. From there it jumped to nearby bushes, through the grass, and made it safely into the woods where the parents called frenetically.

#2 followed shortly after. #3 didn’t hesitate at all and flew straight into the woods to the parents. I had a look at them from the distance when suddenly a #4 showed up next to me and joined the whole gang in the trees.

This is a photo still from yesterday. The parents had chosen a good time for raising this gang of four little House Wrens. During the last 17 days we had nice weather and there was food in abundance. Here it is a spider but we saw lots of caterpillars, moths, and crickets disappearing in the hungry bills of the juvenile House Wrens.

FEEDING TIME AT THE NEST BOX

Friends of the blog have asked already how the little House Wrens in the nest box doing. The parents feed since July, 23rd and as you can see the size of the food is getting bigger. We know for sure that we have at least three little chicks in the box. I shot a few pictures yesterday morning and I liked this one in particular. It’s always hard to tell what’s on the menu because the feeding happens very fast. But here the shadow on the white wall reveals that a cricket was stuffed into the open bill. The new generation makes a lot of noise if the parents arrive with food but in a few days it will be quiet and the little wrens will have left the nest.

PIC OF THE DAY

House Wrens

We watched the female House Wren carefully going in and out of  the hole at the nest box in our front yard for the last 2 weeks. She sat on a clutch of eggs. The male wren guarded the home and tried to lure every potential predator away by singing and drawing the attention to himself instead to the nest location. Today was the moment we were waiting for. While enjoying a cool drink on our porch this evening we saw both parents bringing food to the nest. Sure sign that there is some new life in the box. I don’t think it ever happened during all the years that I had both parents in front of the lens at the same time during this crucial period of time.

The female on the left arrived first with some food in her bill on the roof of the nest box. The male was also a successful hunter and handed his prey to her, just a second after this click was made. She managed to take both and deliver it to their offspring. We watch the House Wrens every year raising their offspring somewhere around the house, but believe me, it is still an excitement for us to be a witness.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender.