Why was this wren perching on the nesting box just prior to entering it? It’s not nesting season, is it? Was it seeking shelter on a cool, windy day? Were there insects inside to eat?
As I noted yesterday, bird activity was low on Monday—we didn’t even have any Canada geese or ducks passing through. I initially noticed this small bird, which I think is a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), when it was checking out the underside of this nesting box. The box itself is pretty big and was placed there, I believe, for ducks to use. Eventually the wren perched on the edge of the entrance and peered inside and then looked all around before going inside.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Curious little things, aren’t they? That hole does look a little big for him.
I remember in the spring when I saw a female duck squeeze into a similar box–it was a lot tighter fit for her.
One spring years ago, Carolina wrens built their nest in a hanging planter outside my front door. I will never forget the magical day when the chicks fledged. I followed them on their journey from pillar to post around to the back of the house and (finally) into a tree. And the first time I connected that raucous song with that tiny bird–astonishing!
How often we ignore nature and the small to focus on our “big” problems. What a waste of life.
20 years ago i watched a pair of robins raising their young from eggs. They had built a nest in the corner of my fence right below my basement window. I looked down one afterrnoon during a huge storm, The rain was blowing straight into the nest. The mother robin was standing on the edge of the nest trying to protect the chicks from the rain. It was a futile cause. They drowned, and the robins never came back. I actually cried.
I still wonder if I could have intervened somehow, although I know it was a lost cause from the start. Nature occasionally teaches us harsh lessons. It is important to treasure the gifts it brings.
Jim Wheeler
Spiders sometimes hang out in the crevices of these boxes, so maybe the wren was looking for a meal.