Saturday, May 23, 2015

Cowbird, UH-OH

 House Wren

This cute wren and its mate had been building a nest for a couple of days when along came a...

 Oh, look what the cowbird found!

female Brown-headed Cowbird!  This is not good news for the wrens as cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds' nests and let the surrogate mothers take care of their young.

Looking for a way to get inside

Luckily for the wrens, the cowbird couldn't get in.

Besides the wrens chased the cowbird away - hopefully for good!

I am linking to Saturday Critters HERE.

38 comments:

chica said...

Muito lindo e parece fez pose pra ti! bjs, chica

Revrunner said...

Cowbird is now undergoing therapy as he tries to deal with rejection. :-)

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Good series. I hope the wrens are permanently successful in their war with the cowbirds (which really are te bird worlds forces of evil!)

DeniseinVA said...

Phew!

Gill - That British Woman said...

and you said birds didn't lead interesting lives!!

Gill - That British Woman said...

and you said birds didn't lead interesting lives!!

Unknown said...

Fab pictures, as I always say you have such patience..

Suburban Girl said...

Such a crazy thing. I'm glad the hole was too small.

Anvilcloud said...

judging by the number of cowbirds, they are very successful with this strategy.

Pamela Gordon said...

Lovely photos. I've seen another pair of tree swallows fighting over the rights to the birdhouse a lot. One pair is set up but another keeps coming around and bothering them. Not sure if this is normal or not. I'm glad the cowbird didn't get in!

TexWisGirl said...

strike one for the cowbird!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

You always take such good pics of birds.

jo(e) said...

I've read about cowbirds -- nice to see some pictures of one!

21 Wits said...

So beautiful! What a cutie!

William Kendall said...

Very tricky!

Judy said...

What a sneaky bird! Good shots of her too.

Taken For Granted said...

You have captured the drama of nature in action in your photos.

Ginny Hartzler said...

What great pictures of the sneaky attempt! I don't care so much if she lays an egg, as long as she doesn't destroy the ones that are there. BUT I think often the cowbird babies get bigger than the others, and push hem out of the nest and kill them.

Sylvia K said...

Terrific captures as always! I think Revrunner is probably right, the Cowbird is probably in therapy these days!! Hope you and the birds have a great weekend -- hopefully a sunny one!!

MadSnapper said...

I did not know cowbirds could be a problem for the wrens. beautiful pics of them all

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

I had the same concern with a resident cowbird couple possibly finding our western bluebird nest but it seems they did not when I last checked. There were five blue eggs, now hatched out and being fed daily by their parents.

Dan said...

Got to give the Cowbird some credit. They discovered how to delegate. ;-)

VP said...

Incredible pictures of so many different birds! You are a source of knowledge!

Kate said...

Hope those wrens are safe from more uninvited intruders!

RedPat said...

Hurray for the wren, EG!

Stephanie said...

Nice to see one up close, the Cowbird.

Montanagirl said...

Yes, the Cowbirds are quite good at passing on their responsibilities! Glad they couldn't gain entrance.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Thankfully the Cowbird couldn't get into this nest,but unfortunately they will find a different one.

Kathy said...

Finally one bird (cowbird) that we both have in our usually very different geography.

Hannah said...

Well, I'm glad to hear that the cowbird failed, wrens are such cute little birds.

Unknown said...

Cute little wren! I'm so glad they chased the cowbird away.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Well that is nature and both breeds seem to cope with it. great shots.

eileeninmd said...

I am glad to hear the cowbird could not fit inside the birdhouse. And so happy the wren chased it away. The cowbirds should take care of their own babies. Cute Wren. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy day!

cieldequimper said...

Soooo cute!

Lowell said...

Pretty darn sneaky, those cowbirds! I know some cowboys who are like that - sneaky.

Anonymous said...

So much drama in the bird world!

cedarmerefarm said...

Caught red handed!!! Great shots.

Silver Parrot said...

Glad the wrens prevailed!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.