Tiny birds but with a powerful voice, wrens are Britain’s commonest and most widespread breeding bird, they are often heard but only seen as a tiny brown blur skipping through the shrubbery.
The British Trust for Ornithology estimate there are about 11 million males holding breeding territories across Britain and Ireland, sometimes with more than one female partner, in woods, hedgerows and gardens. Numbers dip if there is prolonged very cold weather, but they recover quickly when food becomes available.
One of Britain’s smallest birds, the wren used to be on our smallest coin the farthing. The almost spherical body is held on relatively long pink legs and the tail is often held cocked. A dull brown body with some barred stripes, there is a pale stripe above the eyes giving a fierce look from the front. The camouflage is very effective as they flit around in tree canopies and shrubs looking for insects and spiders in summer and seeds in winter.
Despite the diminutive size of the male, the song is quite piercing, a succession of high-pitched whistles ending with a trill. The alarm call is a series of tic-tics. Males are territorial in the breeding season and the song is marking territory. However, in winter they will cluster together for warmth in holes including old nest boxes. The RSPB has one record of more than 60 wrens found in one nest box.
Wren’s nests are hidden away, dense ivy is one favoured place, a good reason to leave it on trees where it does no harm. The male uses moss, grass and leaves to build several domed nests with a small entrance hole. A partner female will choose her preferred one and line it with feathers. The multiple nests are not wasted, successful males will have females installed in several of his nests.
The 5-6 tiny speckled eggs are laid in early May and are incubated solely by the female for 14-18 days. The chicks fledge after 16-18 days. If there is plenty of food, there will be a second brood in late summer. On average a wren will live for two years, but the record is 7 years for a ringed bird recovered in 2003.
Wrens will not often visit bird feeders, but might snatch crumbs on the ground. An untidy area with resident invertebrates will bring them into your garden. If you have a dense shrubbery or ivy you may be lucky enough to see a male flitting in and out with a beak full of insects to feed a brooding female.
Ed Dolphin
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