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Submitted By
Su Brass
Acme, WA, United States
Description
Was surprised to find these birds nested on top of a robin’s nest–not so much because of this, but because this was in early January and it was freezing cold! Temperature was in the teens, and I have never seen any birds nest around here other than in the spring. What are they? From my research, looking in my books, I think they might be winter wrens? These were ALMOST ready to fly…the mother flew off when I came out (this was right on our porch), and the babies hopped out of the nest to the very edge, but went no further. Next morning they were gone!
Category
Species
In January?
They do look like Winter Wrens. I wonder if this could have been a group roosting in the old nest to keep warm? Birds do that regularly. Or did you have repeated observations of babies in the nest for a few weeks? If so, that would be very odd.
No, it’s true that I only saw them this one night and they were gone by morning…but why didn’t they fly away while we stood on the porch with them and took pictures? I assumed they had not flown yet…
And I have never noticed any birds occupying the many nests around here other than to lay their eggs and hatch them in the spring! A mystery…
Winter Wrens will sometimes use an old nest in the winter for a roosting site, and may even refurbish it for the breeding season. Whole families might be found roosting together on a cold day. I’m not sure why they didn’t fly away…maybe you surprised them? Or they’re not shy. 🙂