Wren

The Wren is a widely distributed and successful species but it is less-commonly reported from Garden Bird Watch gardens that one might expect. This is due to its small size and secretive behaviour.

The Wren eats all sorts of insects and spiders but many garden nesters favour moth larvae in particular, destroying huge numbers of pests such as the dreaded winter month. They prefer the densest undergrowth for both feeding and nesting, only emerging in the coldest weather to take small scraps of food from the ground beneath bird tables.

Being such a small bird, means that Wrens can be particularly vulnerable to cold weather. Famously cold winters, like that of 1962—63, may knock our Wren population back to a fraction of its former size. Despite this vulnerability, however, the Wren maintains its numbers over the long term, thanks to their ability to fledge large numbers of young in a good summer.