I’m honored when birds make my backyard their home, but no avian tenant makes me feel more proud than my Carolina Wren.
These bold, inquisitive, charismatic, and energetic little songbirds, with their hearty insectivorous appetites, are a treat to see in my backyard.
Especially since it’s such a challenge to attract them.
The key to attracting wrens is thinking like them.
That means understanding their personality and catering to their needs by offering the right food, water, shelter, and nesting sites.
Attracting Wrens
Shelter
Wrens prefer relatively dense cover and tend to stay low in thickets.
Providing several dense, shrubby areas in the yard provides them with adequate shelter.
Wrens love brush piles to use as shelter on cold winter nights, so leave some around from your fall cleanup.
If possible, try to keep shrub covering connected throughout your yard so the wrens can move around without feeling exposed.
Food
The Carolina Wren’s diet consists of insects and spiders, which they capture on or near the ground.
They will climb trees to find insects hidden deep in the bark and toss aside leaf litter searching for prey.
Wrens visit bird feeders too and sample mealworms, peanut butter, and suet.
Peanut suet nuggets are a hit with our wrens, and they eat alongside our woodpeckers.
Wrens can be shy at first when visiting your yard, so patience is critical until they adapt.
Once they decide an area meets their needs and is a safe sanctuary, the wrens will quickly flit about with ease.
Down-to-Earth Birds
What I like best about wrens is that they are literally down-to-earth birds, shunning the treetops for terrain more on my eye level.
And in my case, that’s nothing taller than 63 inches.
You can find them in brush piles, downed logs, leaves, stacks of firewood, shrubbery, under sheds, beneath covers of riding lawnmowers, barbecue grills, and just about any yard clutter.
And I love this tiny bird’s willingness to meet me face-to-face, cocking their tails a few times before zipping off in milliseconds.
You have to work hard to win over a Carolina Wren and their vibrant personalities, so that’s why seeing them brings a smile to my face more than any other bird.
And puts me in a state of wren zen.
Wren Opera
Pulling into my driveway, I enjoy being greeted by two Carolina Wrens performing a musical duet.
More often heard than seen, the wren’s beautiful song carries throughout the neighborhood the way Pavarotti’s voice fills a large arena.
What’s incredible is this bird, no bigger than your thumb, produces a song as loud as a Northern Cardinal.
The two Carolina Wrens compete in a bird version of The Voice, trying to outdo the other with their tea-kettle, tea kettle, tea kettle tea song in a competition I deem a draw.
But the real winner is me because I enjoy hearing these songsters sing their complex songs year-round.
Tireless Little Songbirds
Hiking in the woods, I hear Carolina Wrens on the trail, and they’re louder than any other bird, beating out even the boisterous Red-winged Blackbirds.
They sing in the rain and snow, at times when even I won’t venture out in the elements.
You have to appreciate this little bird’s spunk, and that alone makes you smile.
These birds are aptly named, too.
According to the Celts, the wren symbolizes action, accuracy, watchfulness, and enthusiasm in life.
One word I use to describe them is tireless.
These birds seldom remain still for a moment as they investigate anything in their path.
They’re so fast and off in a flash, I refer to them as brown lightning.
Seeing Wrens
In our part of New York in the Hudson Valley, we enjoy four species of wrens, including Marsh Wren, Winter Wren, House Wren, and Carolina Wren.
But Carolina wrens are my favorite because they’re here year-round enduring the elements with me, and they’re so upbeat doing it.
These birds are not like cardinals and jays that I enjoy see several times throughout the day.
Wrens come out of nowhere, catching my eye with a quick flash, often like a chipmunk, and before I can find them, they’re off in a flurry.
If I see a leaf moving, and I look long enough, I can find the wren beneath the pile of leaves.
And when I find the wren, I’m like a kid in the candy store screaming,“There’s the wren.”
I don’t feel like my day is complete unless I see or hear one.
Identifying a Carolina Wren
The Carolina Wren is a round, reddish-brown bird that often carries its tail cocked.
It leads with its longish, curved bill and resembles a little brown teapot.
The bright white line over its eye and its warm buffy underparts help clinch the identification versus a House Wren or a Marsh Wren.
Males and females of this species look alike.
Mi Casa, Su Casa
It’s challenging tracking the wren in the yard because they blend in so well with their surroundings.
These birds bounce around from place to place, jutting side to side, cocking their tail with each movement.
Fall is the most challenging time to see them because they look just like a leaf with their warm brown coloring, so I look for moving “leaves.”
Winter is my preferred time to see and photograph Carolina Wrens.
The snow backdrop makes them a can’t miss photo opportunity, they’ll strike interesting poses in the few seconds you have them in your sights.
Carolina Wrens are notorious for taking over human space and possessions for building nests, so you need to be attentive to these tiny trespassers to ensure their safety.
These birds adopt a “mi casa, su casa” policy.
Before you rack your brain thinking about places where wrens might nest, consider this.
These tiny birds commandeer anything you have outside.
They especially love clutter and man-made containers with wide opening of 2.5” in diameter in your yard, garage, barn, shed or other out buildings.
Places When Wrens Nest
Here are some of the creative places I’ve found Carolina Wrens nesting.
In empty newspaper boxes, coat pockets, hanging flower baskets, and hornet’s nests.
Detached mufflers, shoe boxes, old shoes, gardening hats, flower pots, and baskets.
Holiday wreaths, under the generator box, metal pipes, milk crates, chainlink fencing, vents to sheds, lawn mower tires, discarded hubcaps and empty jars.
In short, Carolina wrens love nesting close to humans, so plan ahead by providing a few choice nest sites around the outside of your house to keep these birds out of trouble.
An ill-placed wren’s nest may lead to the accidental destruction of this bird’s nest.
Tips for Keeping Carolina Wrens Out of Trouble
-Place a natural gourd or a wide-mouthed ceramic bird bottle with a 2-2.25-inch diameter entry hole beneath the sheltered overhang of your house or beneath a porch or carport ceiling.
Wrens like large containers with wide openings so another option is an inexpensive plastic newspaper box.
-Attach a basket or another suitable container to the wall beneath an overhang.
-Keep garage doors closed to limit Carolina Wrens from exploring potential nest sites.
Garages are like Great Adventure for these birds. They contain all kinds of containers that might hold a bulky nest.
If these birds end up nesting nest in your garage, then you risk separating them from their eggs or hungry babies when you close the garage door.
-Don’t use glue traps in your garage or on your porch or patios.
Carolina wrens can become stuck and die on these cruel traps when they try to eat insects stuck in the glue.
-Avoid using insecticide sprays since these birds primarily eat insects.
Wren Zen
In return for keeping these perky little birds safe, they will serenade you with their rich, musical songs, entertain you with their inquisitive nature and protect you against all the creepy crawlies they love to eat.
Having a Carolina Wren is a privilege not earned by every backyard birder.
The rewards of being in this exclusive club are loyal backyard companions that bring a smile to your face year-round.
And put you in a state of wren zen.
An adorable Carolina Wren nested in my garage in Massachusetts back in ’89.
I am sitting on my bed watching the wren explore my bedroom…yes, my bedroom. Do not know how he got in, but he refuses to leave, as I have opened all windows. Placed dish of water and some food which he is enjoying. Do not know if I can sleep tonight with room being ic cold and this little fellow bopping around.
The little Carolina Wren that I talked about in my last post, spent the night in my bedroom perched on a picture on wall. I left a window wide open for him to leave if he wanted to. He didn’t leave until 10:00 am
I have a back yard heavily crowed w/ “stuff”, along with feeders & plant pots & places for a calolina wren to hide or nest. A few springs ago after a very cold snap I entered the back yard bc I noticed the silence so different from the front yard where all the bug eating birds were going about their business eating grubs & insects & twittering to themselves & each other in the warm bright day. But the backyard was very silent, not at all normal.
As I live very close to a green corridor I thought perhaps there might be a predator in the backyard, with small children & middle school kids around I was concerned about a bob cat or lynx or cougar having joined the party in my overgrown & cluttered back yard.
But no, as I stood stock still in the entryway near some necessary but too long to cover ladders aware of the “unnatural” silence a little Carolina wren hopped out close to me from cover among the ladders on the ground & trilled a faint few notes as it looked up at me with 1 eye as if to say “you big dummy TACKE COVER!” before returning to his/her own cover among the ladders, in that instant the red tailed hawk perched on a maple bough chose to resettle his wings as he perched near the many bird baths I have there.
He was young, not more than a year old & hungry from winter fasting I suppose & moved on after he really saw me in about 2 more minutes.
Hi E.G. Isn’t it amazing how the songbirds freeze when they know a predator is near.
We’ll notice the birds still on the feeders and try not to make any noises to scare them causing them to stir.
Wrens are so much fun to have around. They can make anything a home. We keep “wren piles” of wood and tree branches around the property so they have safe haven throughout the day
We’re rewarded when our Carolina Wrens stand on the wood piles and sing as if its their stage!
We had a Carolina Wren pair decide that a potted alocasia sitting on an outdoor tiled tabletop was THE place for a nest. It was five feet from our front door! I am semi-retired and work from home. I do hours and hours of gardening and I have both squirrel and bird feeders in my yard, plus a cascading fountain. (I also have a rescued wild Cottontail rabbit that I saved from my backyard at 4 weeks old. She is now 3 years old and owns the entire household, including my five parrots, lol. But that is another story. 😂) The wrens were just a teensy bit concerned that their new nest was so close to our comings and goings. We hung a sign on the door to remind us ‘Do not slam door! Nesting wrens.” The Wrens appreciated our consideration to the point that both Mama and Papa would follow me around the yard while I gardened. They both became very accustomed to my presence: curious, bold, intrigued. When four babies successfully hatched, we tiptoed around our patio as if they were our own babies. For four days the newly fledged babies hopped all over the patio, and slept at night beneath the table they were born in. Eventually, they found their wings. On the last evening we saw the babies, one of the Mama/Papa wrens perched on a feeder close to me, and serenaded me for a good 20 minutes while I lounged in a patio chair. Something tells me they will be back next spring. 😂
I miss my wrens. The babies just fledged. I was blessed to witness. It’s so quiet now. I feel happy for them but sad for me.
Jackie, my House Wrens just fledged today. I am always sad when they leave every year. Fortunately, I spotted a Carolina Wren last week. As I was missing my House Wrens this evening, I realized I had a Carolina Wren singing and hopping around my front yard next to a bunny. I am going to put out some mealworms tomorrow, in hopes that they decide to stick around. I totally understand how hard it is to see the babies leave and miss their songs.