Wren House

Yesterday a pair of Carolina Wrens tried to build a nest in the ceiling fan on our covered back porch.  We use the fan a lot and even if the fan isn't on, we also use the light in the fan as a porch light.  Not a good situation for baby wrens (or even the adults!)  My DH removed the nests before they got too far along in construction but Carolina Wrens are my favorite bird and I liked the idea of them nesting on the porch.

So I searched the internet for plans for a house that the birds could use and my husband built it as quickly as he could.  We hung it yesterday late afternoon/evening and are waiting to see if we have any new tenants.  I'll paint the house and decorate the outside if the pair of birds have decided to look elsewhere for a nesting site but didn't want to take the time to do it yesterday.  I wanted the birds to have the house as soon as possible if they were still looking for a place.

I also found plans for other wren houses that we may build and put up on the other side of the house.  I just liked this particular design because it hangs, is appealing to humans in shape and the entrance hole is sort of a keyhole shape.  This is supposed to enable the wrens to take in nesting material yet still keep the hole small enough to keep out sparrows or other undesirable birds who may want to use the house.

So far we haven't had any interested couples but I didn't get around to putting out a Welcome mat either!  Maybe i ought to go do that now and hope for occupants soon.