Carolina wrens continue to amaze me

Last month I described a simple cubical nest box for Carolina wrens. The entrance is a wide horizontal slot rather than a circular hole.
In the past, Carolina wrens have ignored my bluebird-style nest boxes in favor of more unconventional locations: an old boot, a bucket, a box, a can of nails and a clothes pin bag.
I was encouraged when, within a week, several readers wrote me saying that wrens had moved into their box within a day of putting it up.
Unfortunately, I cannot report similar success. A male has been singing in my yard since early February, and from experience, I know the first eggs are laid sometime in March. I built three of the new-style boxes and placed them inside open sheds. The wren still sings his loud three-note song all day long, but I couldn't find the nest.
Finally, Wednesday, I found the nest. I was sitting on the covered porch by the garage late in the afternoon. Next to chair is a large plastic garbage can filled with an odd assortment of bulky items.
Suddenly I heard the wing beats of a bird as it approached from around the corner of the garage. It landed on the rim of the garbage can but was startled by my presence just a few feet away and fled. That's when the proverbial light bulb came on.
Discovery
I started removing items from the garbage can, and sure enough, at the bottom of the can was a mass of leaves. It was globular with a side entrance. I reached down and made a squeaking sound. Instantly, four gaping mouths appeared. The chicks seemed to be about 4 days old. That means egg-laying began around March 26; nest building began about a week before that.
This nest location poses two serious problems. A heavy blowing rain might fill the can with enough water to flood the nest. And when it's time to leave the nest, the young wrens must fly up about 3 feet to escape the can. This might force them to remain in the nest for an extra day or two, and that's just more time for a snake or chipmunk to find the nest.
So once again Carolina wrens have left me pleasantly frustrated. But they will nest again, maybe twice, before the end of summer. Perhaps they'll come to their senses and use one of the next boxes made especially for them.
Hummingbird follow-up
August Rovder of Canfield wrote that last week's hummingbird column was, "... almost excellent. However, the nectar should be made with pure spring water. Do not use city tap water; hummingbirds ignore it. With my spring water mixture, I get more than 100 hits per day. My neighbor who uses city water gets none. Try it both ways, and see the difference."
This is a good tip for all who have treated tap water. We have a well, so it never occurred to me that city water might be a problem. If hummers inexplicably ignore your feeders, keep this advice in mind.
Speaking of ruby-throated hummingbirds, the migration continues. On Wednesday hummers had been reported as far north as central Wisconsin, southern New York and Connecticut (www.hummingbird.net/map.html).
Ohio osprey update
There's bad news and good news from the Ohio ospreys outfitted with satellite transmitters last summer. The female's transmitter has been giving unreliable readings. The last, which was received April 8, was further south than the previous two readings. The ODNR fears that "The possibility that the female is dead is becoming more likely. Even though her radio is still transmitting, it doesn't look like she has moved out of Venezuela."
The male, on the other hand, returned to Alum Creek Reservoir north of Columbus on April 2. After waiting patiently for about a week, the male is settling in at Alum Creek with a new female. The ODNR reports, "They are working on the nest together and are exhibiting bonding behavior."
Send questions and comments to Dr. Scott Shalaway, RD 5, Cameron, W.Va. 26033 or via e-mail to sshalaway@aol.com.