Trouble In The Bird Feeder Wren Nest!

Yesterday, I was out to check on the squirrel proof Feeder with the house wren nest.  On Monday, Mr. Neil sent over photos showing that three of the four eggs had hatched.  I wanted to see if the final egg hatched and found something completely unexpected:

One chick and no eggs.  Huh?  What the heck happened?  I have a couple of theories:

1.  It was very hot on Tuesday--well into the 90s.  This feeder is made of metal and gets late afternoon sun.  Did the other chicks die from the heat and the wrens remove them?

2.  A snake came up the pole and was able to eat the other chicks?  But why is only one chick left?  Usually snakes take everything...unless this was a really tiny snake?

I don't know.  I did notice that the male didn't sing like he usually does--has he given up on the territory?  I did see a wren leave the feeder a few times, so I know at least one of the pair is still feeding this chick.  I'll be interested to see if this bird actually leaves the nest.

It's a demonstration of how wrens and many other bird species play the odds when raising chicks.  They'll go for an extra brood, they'll try out a new next spot, they lay four to five eggs--if it works, great!  If it doesn't, they'll know better next time.