Wrens Add Winter Life To Your Yard
Whatever the time of year and whatever the weather, if you live in North American and you’re inclined to venture outside, chances are good you’ll be able to find a wren flitting through the brush somewhere.
Whether your variety is the winter wren (noted, unsurprisingly, for its annual appearance in the winter in some parts of the US), the Carolina, Bewick’s, or house wren, one of them will be there making a fuss about something in the winter, or singing a cheery song in the summer. With their vibrant energy and constant motion, wrens can be especially cheery friends when other birds have left for the winter, and attracting them is usually not too difficult.
Most wrens feed naturally on insects and especially spiders. However, some will feed on juniper berries in the winter.
Regardless of their natural preferences, they do show up at bird feeders. Just about any kind of seed will be utilized in the winter. They’ll come to the same types of feeders used for chickadees, or you can try platform feeders. And, like many small birds, they will feed from suet.
One thing they do absolutely love is thick brush. The brush attracts lots of small insects which they love to eat, but brush also provides them with excellent protection from predators – especially neighborhood cats. Adding an area about three or four feet on a side with bushes at least four feet high should be sufficient. In many cases, you can find suitable shrubs already the right height at a nursery. Even just putting down a big pile of brush cuttings can be enough to attract them.
Under natural circumstances wrens are cavity nesters. That being said, they’ll nest just about anywhere – including that pile of old brush you just put down. They like to line their nests with grass and other fine materials. As cavity nesters, they’re also fond of bird houses. Carolina wrens are even known to nest in hanging plants!
If you’d like to put up a bird house, make sure it is one with a small entrance suitable for a small bird. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to line the inside with find grass or some other fine, natural material (be careful to use only natural materials, as synthetic material might harm the birds).
Overall, the best way to bring in wrens is to provide them with good brush cover and possibly with suet or other bird seed. Bringing wrens into your backyard space is a great way to bring some life into your winter as well as your summer.
