Birds nesting in our back porch

A few months ago we had one of our electric hurricane shutters repaired on one of the French doors leading onto our semi-enclosed back porch.

I noticed when they took down the shroud at the top of the shutter that there was a lot of plant matter stuck back in the corner.



It was a bit mysterious, but we have a lot of wind, and things just grow everywhere. We have gardens in our gutters, too.


A few weeks ago I noticed that a pair of small birds had landed on a hanging lamp we have at the opening of the porch, looking around, checking out the area. Nesting, I thought.

Then a couple of days ago I saw one of them again, same place, with a caterpillar in its beak, and then it flew back into the corner of the covered porch. Ah, baby birds, I thought.

Went out today and looked, and indeed the plant matter is back again, and it is a nest.


The nest is sort of a messy pile of twigs and leaves and ticks on the outside, looks indeed like some junk blown in from somewhere.







But looking closer, it has a little opening, a throat, and inside the material is finer.



To get a shot looking into the mouth of the nest, I had to get the camera way back in against the wall, as close as I dared without alarming the birds too much.

And there they are, eyes and hungry mouths. Click on the picture below so it goes fullsize, and you'll see them.




The adult bird is very shy, hard to see clearly, but it like it is probably a Carolina Wren. That site has the call and some pictures of nests