I was moving hanging baskets out of my plant shelter and when I reached for a plectranthus, a wren flew out. Gave me a heart attack and I am sure it did her too!
Seeing as she was out of the nest, I peeked and took a shot of it...
Needless to say, this one will remain in the shelter and I'll have to water carefully till...
This is a good spot as Mom bird can come and go but I should be able to keep the cat collection out till the birdies take wing.
Cozy!
Definitely "cozy"! So far there were four eggs. This is going to be a snug fit! LOL
Oh, this is so cute! Please keep us posted and update photos as the little ones hatch.
I hope to with disturbing them too much. This is fun.
One other time I found a birds nest in a Hoya plant on the front porch but no Mom, eggs or babies. Don't know why.
Probably they already hatched... I have had several bird's nests in my hanging baskets over the years...
How sweet! Keep us posted! Tamara
Oh my goodness...how cute is that!
This afternoon I was out repotting some herbs and saw Mom leave. Took a quick peek and there are now FIVE eggs. Amazing!
how big are the eggs?
Judging size I am not good at. I would say like an egg shaped jelly bean ~ the bigger ones...
They look like they are smaller than an inch...no?
Oh, that is soo cute Pod. We usually have little wrens nest in hanging baskets on our front porch every year. Last year they made 6 nests in a Martin house in the back yard, but used only one nest. I think I read somewhere that they make a few nests, some being dummy nests. Don't know why they would do that. The babies hatched and were so cute. Had snakes around and I was so worried that the snakes would get the babies, but they were okay ... fledged the nest and hung out by and on the chain link fence all day, one day, with Mama or Papa Wren feeding them constantly. When I cleaned the Martin House a few months later, one nest in one of the compartments had snake skin in the nest! I read where some birds will use all kinds of stuff for nesting material, including snake skin ... so I don't know if that is what happened, or if a snake actually shed it's skin in there! I haven't checked any of my birdhouses or hanging baskets for that matter, to notice if we have any nests yet this year. Will have to take a look tomorrow.
Hope you get some pic's when the babies hatch and as they fledge the nest!
My surprise was not IN a pot .
More like all around it .
Oh sheesh Ginger...lol
reminds me of the time the inlaws went to visit my better half while he was living in AZ. He made his parents pull the car over so he could chase down a rattler and take his picture. nuts.
While in AZ my better half took care of doves and quail in the area. He was helping his brother expland his business and they had a huge wharehouse car bay. One day he was watching this poor male dove trying to build a nest on a steel support beam. The dove would put a few things up, watch them fall and start all over again.
My better half went and got the small square priority box and liquid nailed it to the beam...those doves moved right in...so cute. lol
Ooh, now that looks like one that I'd give a wide berth... Here, that head shape would indicate a pit viper... is your buddy venomous?
Too cute about finding the wren nest! My dad has a Carolina wren that nests in a hanging basket on the back porch every year... he always has to water very carefully, LOL. I just gave him a basket of coleus etc. with a self-watering reservoir that gets filled from the bottom, so he could keep the plants alive without disturbing the wrenlets! When we were visiting last week, we also saw a house wren making use of one of Dad's bird houses -- very exciting, as that's a new bird in his back yard.
critterologist , It is a carpet snake .
No venom at all , But is a constrictor .
It'll just choke you to death .
http://www.smuggled.com/auspyt4.htm
If you don't like snakes , You might find this interesting .
Crap Ginger ~ thanks! I needed that! You with that photo ~ right after Lin finding a snake skin ~ right after I just came in after seeing my first snake of the year. Don't know what it was but pretty. I know enough to know it wasn't poisonous.
I would have thought your snake was a pit viper also by the photo. Carpet snake ~ hmmm... DH wants to know ~ does he eat carpet? LOL
GiddyMoon ~ if I had to guess on egg length about 1/2 inch. They are really tiny.
Pod
DH wants to know ~ does he eat carpet?
eeeeeeeeek! Snakes ..... I don't like Snakes! Have had two of the deadly coral snakes in my yard since last summer! Hubby was able to kill one, but one got away! I am verrrrrrrrry careful when out weeding my flower beds anymore!
Lin ~ don't worry overly much on coral snakes. They don't have fangs and aren't likely to strike. Their poison is in their saliva (as I understand it) and they would almost have to gnaw on your hand or hit an open wound. Besides, they are the shyest of the poisonous snakes, they will quickly get out of your way if they are able.
And do look closely at the colors. If the red and yellow are separated by black, it is a king snake and will eat other snakes.
Ahhh... stuff nightmares are made of!
Ginger ~ I shall PASS on the special delivery. I have learned only to tolerate and live with snakes. Not like them. Thanks for the offer anyway...
1/2" eggs??? Does it get ANY cuter??? lol
I'm wondering how many of these eggs she'll lay. When the "wrenlets" hatch out, how will they fit? It is a tiny nest.
Yes, although their nerve toxin isn't anything to mess with, coral snakes carry their venom way back in their mouths, so a quick strike isn't an issue the way it is with a rattlesnake or cottonmouth... and they're very shy... I've looked for them, never found one!
Milk snakes have similar coloring, as pod says.... Here's a little teaching rhyme so you know whether you're looking at a coral snake or a milk snake... If the red stripes are next to black stripes, you're safe, and you've got a garden buddy who will help eat rodents and other pests!
Red on Black is friend of Jack.
Red on Yellow will kill a fellow!
Ginger, thanks for the ID on the snake... he's handsome! I'd love you to fly him on up for me, but DH keeps telling me I don't really *need* a pet snake... LOL!
We've had King Snakes in our yard in the past too, but these two were definitely the Coral Snakes .... very poisonous. My hubby told me "At least they are not the striking kind like the Rattle Snake." "The Coral Snake will just grab hold and won't let go, but keep injecting the venom! Coral Snakes are all over Florida just like the Eastern Diamondback Rattle Snake and the Pygmy Rattle Snake, and Cottonmouth's and other Moccasin's ... as well as non poisonous ones. The King Snake, Scarlet Snake and Coral Snake are very colorful, very pretty. I always had trouble remembering the rhyme to tell them apart, there have been a few versions, so I now always look for the color of the head. If the first color on the head is black, it's the Coral Snake! I even printed out photo's of the King, Scarlet and Coral Snakes that I keep on hand. The last one my husband found and yelled at me to come out back. He had been digging out back and walked over to the driveway to get something and this snake was sunning on the driveway. He yelled at me asking me what I remembered about the colors on the coral snake! I told him and he kept asking " Are you sure?" I finally ran inside and got the pictures and showed him that it WAS a Coral snake in the driveway! We have four cats that are indoor cats, but they go out in the screened enclosure and screened deck that runs the lenght of the back of our house. We have found snakes in there before .... get up under the wood deck and get into the pool area and have even gotten into our Florida Room cause I leave the door open all the time! I know Snakes are God's creatures too and would never kill a harmless one on purpose. But, I am so afraid of one of those poisonous ones getting one of the cats! So, hubby killed the Coral snake with a shovel. I read where they eat lizards, frogs and other snakes. A few years ago I was on the riding lawn mower in the backyard and freaked out ... I ran over a snake not seeing it in the grass! Parts of snake were flying out of the sides of the mower everywhere, it was awful. I have no idea what kind of snake it was, but I am petrified of all snakes, don't even like looking at pictures of them! I did feel so bad about having run over it, but I'm not about to go on snake patrol before mowing the lawn every week!
Lin ~ we too have a variety of poisonous snakes. The water moccasin, both the timber (rare), canebrake (not so rare) and western diamondback rattler, the coral (we have seen these up to 18 inches) and to me, the worst is the copperhead. They are small but most likely to bite. They blend in with pine straw, red dirt, leaves and more folks get bit. You don't see them till stepped on or reaching down to pick something up. I know many folks that have been bit by these guys.
Over the years, I have had many cats and one dog get bit. The cats can't seem to leave well enough alone. One night, two males each had a bite on one front paw. Most of the time the snake injects little or no venom. It is a dry strike intending to scare the victim away. They know they can not eat something that large so save the venom for food or if they have recently eaten, the venom is not as potent.
The vet says it is important to watch if the bite is around the head. It could cut off circulation or breathing. They can give them something to stop the swelling. Primarily infection is the important treatment. Snake fangs are nasty and antibiotics will be the order of the day. One male I have has a bald spot between his shoulder blades where he received a bite from a larger snake. This cat goes out of his way to get in trouble and has had a variety of snake bites. Lived to tell them all... ; )) I keep dry antibiotics (to be diluted) and doctor myself (with the Vets' blessing) He trusts me to know when we need to go to the clinic.
That said, I always, always watch where I put my hands and feet. DH says I see more snakes than any one person he knows! I love the outdoors too much to let a snake inhibit me.
BTW, still only 5 eggs this a.m.
How in the world did you get a picture of that snake? I would have ran away screaming. I'd be afraid to go back out there again too!
Suzi
Not sure who Suzi is referring to .
Now Ginger ~ you are the one that posted that photo... BTW, is it a "pet" snake?
Suzi ~ I agree, I think I would have let that snake have that plant!
pod....so now i see this is a contest....what can i find now in another of my pots....hhhhhmmmmmm(grin)
keep us posted tho....can't wait to see the babies:)
No pod. It was a Paid Job .
I do snake relocating .
And I was called out to remove it .
It had eaten a neighbours Pet Rooster .
So I kept it at home for a few weeks .
Just so I could take some Pics.
The plant was an Elk .
Snake might have thought it was a meal ?.
Oh yum, yum... LOL
All this reptile talk has me worried to find a snake in Mama Wrens' home. I am wary when I step in there just in case. 8~ 0
That's good . Do keep an eye out .
Snakes love young birds & eggs .
And once they have eaten ,
They have a couple of days nap .
I shudder to think... : ))
Ginger do you relocate poisonous snakes too?
Yes pod .
To me a snake is a snake .
And the relocation fee is still the same .
This one was in a Fish Tank .
Just shopping for a meal... I guess.
This was the First one after I got it home .
YIKES! I would have run screaming right out of the country Ginger! I have a good tolerance for most things, just cannot deal with snakes or cows. Snakes to me are just plain scary. They are so well adapted to hiding that they just seem to appear out of nowhere. The cow thing dates back to when I was very young and used to visit an uncle who had a dairy farm. Those cows were HUGE. I was always afraid one would step on me and squash me flat. Still won't go near 'em ........... or drink milk either. LOL
ginger...so scary them snakes....eeeeeekkkkk
I like snakes ,
But am terrified of Sharks .
It takes all kinds .
Do yall know what country
Has the highest number of Deaths by Shark Attack in the world ?
