IDAHO ROCK WREN NEST JACK TOMLIN

Rock wrens showed up again here in Idaho last year after having disappeared for a number of years. Two nesting pairs have been seen here this year. One pair is still here; maybe both pair.

Can't remember the reason I went to the internet to find more information about them than Sibley's had, but I found out about their habit of building a rock pathway (or something like that) by their nest.

My brother in law happened to tell me that he knew where the wrens appeared to have a nest 2 years ago. I pulled the lumber from the spot and found it; probably lucky mice had not destroyed it. I was surprised by the rock's size. There wasn't much space under the board so I'm wondering how they did this. Did they? It certainly doesn't look like a random collection of rocks and right next to a nest.

Learn something new every day.

Jack,
Very interesting and much larger than I would have expected. I once had a small empty can that I used to hold old nails and screws and I kept it in a drawer down an an open space under the dining room. The can was one of those small #1 cans that hold about a cup and a half. I had inadvertently left the drawer slightly open for a while and then one day I opened it and a Bewick's wren flew out. She had filled the can with twigs and then made her nest just slightly below the rim. Actually it was much the size of a hummingbird's nest.

As to the stones it is hard to say but the way they are laid out as they are, looks unnatural, almost like a little porch. Now, if the rocks had been stacked up some to hold the board a little higher you might have had a scientific discovery.

Bob

Jack,

The more I look at the photos you sent the more I see. First was the rebar sticking out of the concrete foundation which, of course, made the original opening by not letting the wooden pieces sit right on one another. The rocks, shale or slate I guess, appears to be much in the manner that we humans set out slabs of rocks for our patios so that we have a nice surface to walk upon in our bare feet. Not to anthropomorphize these small wonderful creatures BUT ... can this be intelligent design at work and not the effects of evolution as described by Darwin? Does this go beyond evolution and into intuitive animal behavior yet to be described by science? Naw, it was described in Sibley’s so it is not new, yet a wonderful discovery.

Posted on February 26, 2011 05:40 AM by bob-dodge