With camera in hand, I went back out to the tank for a few pictures. I first wanted to try to get a shot through the small opening in the cover of the bird nest inside. After positioning myself in front of the opening and framing the shot through the viewfinder on the camera, imagine my surprise when one of the parent birds flew out of the opening and all but hit me in the face! :) I did at least get a fairly decent look at the bird and comparing that with the nest structure and markings on the eggs I'm pretty sure that what we have here is the nest of a "Carolina wren" (Thryothorus ludovicianus).
A couple of intriguing facts about Carolina wrens:
* A pair bond may form between a male and a female at any time of the year, and the pair will stay together for life. Members of a pair stay together on their territory year-round, and forage and move around the territory together.
* The Carolina Wren is sensitive to cold weather, with the northern populations decreasing markedly after severe winters.
Carolina wrens are found in a wide range of habitats, from swamps to forests to residential areas and they generally require moderately dense shrub or brushy cover. They typically utilize cavity nests and the nest is a domed cup with a side entrance. The nest is usually bulky and made of bark strips, dried grasses, dead leaves, hair, feathers, paper, plastic, or string. They can be placed in tree cavities, vine tangles, dense branches, or other artificial sites such as a mailboxes (or in our case, a propane tank).
A link to a "Wikipedia" article on the Carolina Wren can be found HERE.
