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RFI: Carolina Wren nesting habits



Hi c-birders,

Tree-huggers that we are, my housemates and I frequently ride our bikes 
or carpool in to school, leaving our cars idle at home, often for days at 
a time. One of my housemates recently noted a small, brown bird carrying 
bits of grass into the grill of another housemate's car. This morning I 
noted the same thing, investigated further, and found what appears to be 
a Carolina Wren nest, at least half-completed, in my housemate's car's 
grill.

So my first question is: how many nests do Carolina Wrens build? I know 
that male March and Cactus Wrens build several nests, only laying eggs in 
the female's favorite, and leaving the rest vacant. However, I'm pretty 
sure that Bewick's and House Wrens build only one nest apiece (I could be 
wrong about this, as they use cavities instead of building grass domes). 
If Carolinas build several nests, this bird might not even care what 
happens to the one in the car; if it builds only one, the issue is more 
crucial.

Second question: is it possible to move the nest? A pair of Carolina 
Wrens nested on my housemate's bedroom windowsill, about 15 meters from 
where the car in question is parked, last summer; this is likely the same 
bird or pair of birds. If I relocate the nest to the windowsill or 
adjacent bushes, will the wrens follow, abandon the attempt and start 
over, or start rebuilding in the car grille? Anyone out there 
experimented with such things before?

Thanks in advance,

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/