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;

MORE FROM THE 'ZAUNKÖNIG' (HOUSE WREN)

Maybe it was my last chance this evening to spend time with the camera around the nest box of the House Wrens. The parents kept feeding the little wrens. They are quite large already and it seems the calls for more food get louder every day. This is my most spectacular shot from today. Stuffing the insects and spiders into the throat of the juveniles takes only a second or less and not every click is a hit.

This little guy found a way to keep its siblings out of the way by leaning out of the entrance as far as possible and plugging the hole with its butt. It must have known that something big is coming...

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Better Beamer flash extender

This ‘Big Ass Spider’ was gone as quick as any smaller prey before. Look at the size of the spider in comparison to the bird’s size. This is about the same as you eating a whole chicken at once… 😆

FEEDING TIME

Any kind of insects and spiders live a dangerous life at the moment in our yard and the surrounding woods. Our House Wrens feed their second brood in one of our nest boxes.

The little wrens peek out from the entrance hole ones in a while and they make a lot of noise to let their parents know that they want more food. I have seen two juveniles for sure but it is possible that even three or four occupy the nest. Well, at least they make noise for four…😉  We expect them to leave the nest within the next few days.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Better Beamer flash extender,

I just checked my photo archive from the last years. The first brood is usually raised in June and a second one is due in late July or early August. So they are right on schedule this year so far. In some years we saw them feeding as late as August 17, sometimes due to the loss of their eggs in July. We have a very active raccoon mother with two baby raccoons roaming around here… We will see what happens next. I hope you enjoy!