Where Have My House Wrens Gone?
After my house wren pair set up a nest, laid eggs and fledged their first brood, I mentioned that I saw the male cleaning out the nest. Then I saw the female putting new soft nesting materials back into the nest box. When I checked around I was told this is how they do it and all was well. Convinced that they were just getting ready to have another brood, I stopped thinking about it. After all, the bluebirds had put their nest together in the other box and already had laid eggs. The house wrens showed no interest in bothering them.
Time Passes And Poof
I saw the wrens around the yard for a little while after that. By my estimates I was looking at another month with them between incubation and fledging. After a little over a week I started noticing a definite scarcity of their visits. A little while after that they were complete no shows. Then, this week my old Carolina wrens were making regular food runs again in my backyard. While I’m glad to see them back, I’m a little concerned what happened to the house wrens.
Leave Well Enough Alone
I had been told by Julie Zickefoose to tread lightly when it came to house wrens or I’d have trouble on my hands. I haven’t disturbed or even peeked in their nest like I do my bluebirds nests for this very reason. However, I think I’m going to have to take a look soon and make sure nothing bad hasn’t happened.
I have baffles on all my feeders and nest boxes so I really can’t imagine what may have happened other than just changing their minds and building elsewhere. After all, house wrens are notorious for setting up multiple nests before finishing one. I’m hoping this is the case here. From what I understand, just because they used a box one time that doesn’t mean it’s a lock for the next use. Maybe the female had buyer’s remorse after she got her eggs in that one-LOL!
I’ll make sure to report my findings back. Stay tuned and make sure to leave me any comments or questions you may have.
Read The Whole House Wren Story
Tell Me Your House Wren Stories
What To Do With My House Wrens
My House Wrens Are Taking Their Time
My House Wrens Have Disappeared
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Thinking the same thing…previous years the wrens were one of the first signs of spring arriving…this year zip, nada, none! Anyone that can explain this?
Hi Laura,
Thank you for stopping by and letting us hear from you.
I haven’t had any experience with house wrens since writing that article a few years ago. However, I haven’t read any reports of their numbers declining. A lot of times there are just seasonal adjustments to the population/migration distribution. Sorry, that was a mouthful-LOL!
Here’s an Audubon guide page that should interest you: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/house-wren
Jeff
I had the same thing happen. We had our first family of wrens, their eggs hatched you could here the babies and lots of the adults bringing them food. Then I thought i had seen some of the babies flying about and poof. they are all gone. I really miss their singing. It is still beautiful and warm – don’t know where they went!
Hi Michelle,
That just seems to be the way they do things. I haven’t seen any in my back yard since I wrote that article in 2009. Do you have any Carolina wrens in your yard? They’ve got the most varied songs I’ve ever heard and I love the way they’re always flitting about getting into everything. I was divided back then because of all the bad things I’d heard and read about house wrens (being extremely aggressive towards other species including killing young AND parents in other boxes) and still missing their antics. On the plus side, my Carolina wrens that have been a fixture ever since I started feeding birds returned after the house wrens left.
Thanks for stopping by and telling us what’s happening in your neck of the woods. What is your neck of the woods, by the way?
Jeff
Where have all the wrens gone? No sighting here in Georgia if the first one. Something is killing all the new born baby birds in my bluebird boxes. Baby birds are just laying in the box dead.?? This also happen last year too! Does anyone know what is going on, if so please help.
Hi Trease,
I’ve had a chickadee nest box tragedy I’ll be posting soon but I wanted you to know I feel your pain.
The top answers I could find for things killing bluebirds in the box were snakes, raccoons and house sparrows. Here is an article I found where people discuss problems they’ve had that you might find helpful: https://www.wild-bird-watching.com/my-first-bluebirds-then-tragedy.html
My gut feeling is to rule out snakes because they eat them and leave nothing. This is what I think happened to my chickadees this year. Raccoons I believe would also take them. Because they are very territorial and, in my eyes, evil, I would suspect house sparrows. Do you have any around? They are known to kill nestlings and parents if they feel threatened. House wrens are similarly aggressive.
Finally, I should mention that baffles are very good for squirrels and raccoons but have no effect on house sparrow or snakes. Snakes can crawl up the inside of the baffle if there is nothing blocking access to the box from below.
Here are some more ideas for discouraging predators: http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/PDF/NABSFactsheetFAQs.pdf
If anybody else has similar experiences please add your two cents. I think this year with the COVID-19 and reduced human activity many invasive species and predators are having a field day. I know I’ll be making changes to my already baffled boxes before the next nest tragedy strikes.
Please join me in protecting the birds’ futures!
Jeff
The male house wren in our back yard is guarding the bird house but not attracting a mate. He is singing his heart out but no luck for four weeks now. Where do house wrens winter. We are in southern Wisconsin.
Hi Myrna,
Thanks for stopping by and letting us know what’s going on in your neck of southern Wisconsin. I’m from Cleveland originally and my dad’s sales territory used to take him to Wisconsin but I don’t remember where.
According to Cornell Lab they winter in southern US and Mexico. Here’s the map:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Wren/maps-range
They are a funny species too. Because they’ll try to take your whole back yard if they feel threatened. If you have any other birds nesting, especially in boxes, make sure the wrens are NOT disturbed or they’ll do something evil to the others.
They also build false nests.
Hope this info helps. Let me know how it goes with him, ok?
Jeff
I hope everyone understands the difference between HOUSE wrens and Carolina wrens… I LOVE my Carolina wrens… but house wrens are another story. They will decimate a blue birds nest and even kill baby blue birds. I have NO desire whatsoever to have house wrens in my yard. If I see a nest or box filled up with sticks I immediately take it down & clean it out!!!!
Hi Kathye,
I’ve just recently had such an encounter. Last week, I saw a house wren pair flitting about on one of my boxes. The other box had titmouse hatchlings in it so I was on alert. I pay attention and actually sit outside with my birds every day. I did NOT see the house wrens pay ANY attention to the titmouse box. A couple days later, while sitting outside, I was struck by how odd it was that there was not titmouse activity in our out of their box. I was concerned and decided to investigate. As I got closer to the box my heart sank. Seeing clumps of discarded nesting and then discarded baby titmice made me sick. I contacted a bluebird expert I consulted years ago the last time I had house wrens (it was nesting bluebirds the last time and nothing bad happened). She told me to remove the nest they built. Three more nests were removed. She told me I should just let them get settled so they can stop being in alarm mode. After a one day pause, they are back at it again and I will let them finish this time.
The thing about house wrens you’ve got to be careful about is putting them on high alert by threatening their nest! Many a backyard birding enthusiast doesn’t realize the situation they’ve created by trying to just exclude them from their backyards! Even though the bluebird babies were bigger last time, the house wrens came built, hatched and fledged without bothering anybody and are capable of doing it.
The other thing many people don’t know is birds they see all the time like house sparrows will gladly kill all the babies and parents if they feel that threatened. Again, even though I’ve not seen them show any interest, I have had a pair with young who are hanging about in the periphery of my yard. I don’t think they did the murder nest but it raises another possibility even if parents with babies generally don’t go after nests.
Thanks for reporting in from your next of the woods, Kathye!
Jeff
My wrens left early this year. Usually they leave the first week of August. This year they were gone mid July. I’m thinking the lack of rain was too much for them. I also noticed a blue jay hanging around and may have gotten in their box. Here in Wisconsin when they show up it means spring. I’ll be checking that box to see what happened. I hope they continue to come back and whatever happened this year was just a fluke. I have tons of birds in my yard but the wrens are my favorite. Thanks
Mike in Wauwatosa Wi.
I’ve always loved the house wrens. Listening to their beautiful song. But this year I heard them the first part of the summer. Not now. I think the wrens I have now are Carolina wrens. They took over a plant I have in a container that wasn’t completely filled. I love watching them but don’t notice them singing. I want my house wrens back. They remind me of my father. He used to build wren houses for me. I live in southern lower Michigan.
Hi Ellen,
Since I’ve written this article I’ve had about a 50/50 experience with house wrens. The ones I wrote about here came in, built a nest, had babies, fledged them and left about the time you’re talking about. This year, I had a pair come in, kill a box full of titmice babies, took forever to have their own nest built, had babies, fledged them and hung around putting more nest material back in the box I vacated when they left. Since my bluebirds were looking for a nest I took my bluebird/avian expert’s advice and cleaned out the box repeatedly until the male finally left. The bluebirds spent weeks both checking out the box but never built. I think it still had the aura of death. No, I’m not joking or on drugs either-LOL!
In my back yard, Carolina wrens are one of my favorites. They have, it is reported, over 70 songs! This is probably why you haven’t noticed them singing. Their vocalizations and songs are so varied you’d swear it had to be another bird.
Cherish your time with them and their child-like antics!
Yes, I do think it’s sweet that house wrens remind you of your father, by the way.
Jeff
Hi Michael,
I’m sure the events of 2020 into 2021 have caused many odd occurrences with animals of all kinds. They are very susceptible to the energy we humans give off and it can confuse them.
Please let me know what you discover, will you?
Jeff
I have had house wrens in all my bird boxes for the 8-10 years, this year I have not seen any? Where are they.
Hi Patricia,
Thank you for stopping by and letting us know what’s happening in your neck of the woods! In case there’s a community member close to you, where are you located?
Jeff
We hung a wren house on our tree and after we saw a wren bringing twigs etc. into it we were delighted. But to our dismay that is all the activity we saw. We also have squirrels in our neighborhood and they kept looking into the house so then we move it, free standing near the tree but impossible for squirrels to get. We saw a wren the other day bringing twigs etc. and were delighted, but now we are sad because 2 days, we have not seen a wren. Do they just rest???
Hi Cheryl,
Do you know if this is a house wren or a Carolina wren? Where are you located?
Either way, both can build false nests to distract predators. In the house wren’s case, they’ll do it also to claim their dominion over a territory.
I would only caution if this IS a house wren and you have any other nest boxes in your yard let the house wrens put twigs in anything to discourage others. This is because the house wrens will physically remove babies and damage eggs if they feel threatened. The titmouse nestlings I lost two years ago are a testament to the fact that they don’t need much to feel threatened. Wait until their babies hatch and leave and you don’t hear them in your yard any more.
If they’re Carolina wrens, they are way less likely to threaten anybody else.
But to finally answer your question YES, they can take their time. Although house wrens tend to stuff a box very quickly.
Let me know if I can help any more, will you?
Jeff
My house wrens nested in a box very close to the back deck. We got used to them and they got used to us. The male would sing to the other half the morning. They had one brood and then noticed them cleaning the nest and putting it back together and had another brood. We could hear them when they would feed them. We never saw any of the little ones but I guess when it was time they just left. After about the first week in august they disappeared completely. We miss them but I guess we’ll have to wait until next year. They been gone some ten days now so I guess that’s it.
Hi Stan,
The house wrens I had did exactly the same thing. You’re correct that it will probably be the next nesting season until you see them again.
Thanks for sharing!
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
We just had house wrens make a nest in a bird house and could see and hear them feed their babies. It’s was such a treat. The male would sit on our Shepards hook near their nest as if to guard it and I noticed not many other birds have been around. It’s been about two weeks or more and neither male or female wren are present and there doesn’t seem to be babies in the nest anymore. I just saw a blue jay that’s been hanging around the last couple days. Hope it didn’t eat the babies. Hoping the wrens and their babies flew off to live another day! My main question is, should I clean the house out and remove the nest at some point?
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing with us!
My experience with house wrens is they are fierce nest and (unfortunately for some birds) territory defenders. They would peck the blue jay to pieces if he attempted anything-LOL! I’m sure they’re just at that stage (age) where they are still being fed by the parents by likely further away than their nest. I’m sure it won’t be long before you see them scurrying about and feeding on the ground and bushes.
I always clean and wash out the nest box when they’ve fledged. Many birds WILL reuse and old nest but I do it for the disease and pest prevention.
It’s really funny that you should comment about house wrens because I just observed our Carolina wren family feeding in the bushes near our house. Very sweet!
Let me know when you see the youngsters around again, will you?
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
I have a pair of house wrens in my blue bird house.This particular design allows you to open up from the front. Much to my dismay, when I opened the bird house, I found what I assume to be the female dead, with four eggs remaining in the nest.This had to be the female I presume because the male is nowhere to be seen or heard.What is your advice?
Hi Robert,
Sorry to hear about your house wrens. The first thing I would do is contact your local either humane or wildlife rehabilitator for help. They can tell you what can be done if anything.
The sad part is that house wrens are actually known for this kind of attack against other birds. It may just be a snake or something else but the first time I had house wrens, as I believe I wrote, I was advised to handle them with kid gloves. I was told if they felt threatened they might even go to my other bluebird house and kill EVERYBODY, no joke.
Give the rehab people a call ASAP and let me know how it goes.
Jeff
We have had multitude of wrens on our property since we moved here 20 years ago. We have built many houses for them and they love our hardy kiwi shrub growing over our arbor. They have not returned for the last two years. I had wondered if anyone else had experienced this in Michigan. It really has me worried. It is so much quieter here! This is the first site I have found that has mentioned it.
Hi JoAnne,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
The original post was about house wrens I had that basically took over our backyard nestboxes. I was advised not to bother their nestbox else they might attack other ones. I complied and this article was about them finally giving up on our yard.
But you haven’t seen ANY wrens in the last couple of years?
Jeff