backyard science: our very own baby house wrens

We have fallen hard over here for four sweet, tiny babies–four chirping, tweeting, insect-eating, feathered friends–little house wrens.

Their mom made a nest in our hanging basket, beautiful red geraniums, so for the last few weeks, we’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for them to arrive.

And once they arrived–maybe a bit over two weeks ago–they seriously never stopped chirping. Or so it seemed.

We all have become accustomed to hearing their hungry peeps, so tonight when the babies left the nest, I think we all were a little bit teary.

Here’s our house wren story, all tied up in a nice little Smart Summer Challenge package:

• Our Baby House Wrens:  We noticed the nest in our geraniums probably about a month or so ago.  And except for a bit of fluttery action when it came time for watering, it was a pretty quiet nest.

I tried unsuccessfully to snap a few pictures of the mystery bird who was coming in and going out, but it was hard. She was quick, and the screen seemed to get in the way.

But literally anyone and everyone who came to our house was shown ‘our’ nest in the basket.

And then–one day–the chirping started.

. . . and we counted four hungry beaks open for food.

 

And after they ate, they slept–just like all babies do!

When my parents hit town this weekend, my mom was pretty convinced that we had a family of house wrens on our hands!  And she was absolutely correct!

We found a few great sites that confirmed my mom’s hypothesis: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is AWESOME. Seriously love it so much I could marry it. It will be one of my forever go-to’s now that I’ve found it, since it’s easy to navigate, easy on the eyes, easy for kids to comprehend, and easy to identify almost any bird.

The main page for our House Wrens not only includes Keys for Identification (size and shape, color pattern, behavior, and habitat), but it also adds information on Life History (at-a-glance habitat, food, nesting, and conservation information).  Also included are cool facts (which we adored!), sound bites (songs and calls), and videos. I. Love. This. Site.

 

When we saw some of the babies on top of the nest, we knew we had to say ‘good-bye’–

Before we knew it, our babies were ready to leave the nest–in only a bit over two weeks!! We–I mean, I–wasn’t ready!! We assembled by the window, and I shot some video and took tons of pictures. It all happened so quickly, none of us could believe it. I should have been more clear with the kids about how long they’d be in the nest, but I didn’t even think about it.

So needless to say, Maddy and Owen cried, and Cora was antsy and upset, and as the babies were flying away, we talked briefly about how it was time for them to go and they were ready and they were happy to fly and be free. . . and my husband wisely distracted them by taking them back to the pool.

I’m betting that tomorrow when we don’t hear the babies chirping for breakfast, we’ll revisit the issue. But for now, this Smart Summer life lesson was a little more than I bargained for today.

Here’s a little peek into our baby house wrens leaving the nest:

And that’s about it! It doesn’t get much better than this for backyard science, I know–talk about a super, awesome, totally full of good-luck geranium plant!

 

Thank you to Cornell Labs for creating such a fabulous website. Please check out their Citizen Science page to learn about how we all can contribute to the learning, and choose a project that interests you.  Then get started observing, sharing, and participating in their program–a super way to get kids excited about science!

 

Remember, it’s week 3 of the Smart Summer Challenge--a 6 week campaign that Candace of Naturally Educational, MaryLea of Pink and Green Mama, and I are hosting to show all parents how important it is for parents to make summer learning fun! 

Summer learning can be simple–even 5 or 10 minutes a day in the span of a read-aloud, and anything and everything counts–even today’s good-bye to our baby wrens!  All we ask is that you link up here on Fridays and share what you’ve done (meaning: share one way you participated). Each Friday for the duration of the challenge, we’ll choose one participant to receive an awesome (and I mean totally worth your time awesome) prize.

Our goal is to show all parents that if we can do it, anyone can do it. And if we want our kids meet with success in school and to enjoy learning about the world around them, it’s our job to create a lifestyle of learning for our families.  Join us!