how to attract wren birds

To attract small birds like wrens to your yard, you will want to provide them with plenty of places to find food, shelter and, nest-making supplies.

If you are an avid gardener, it’s quite easy to make sure the birds will be attracted to your yard.

House wrens received their name because they are naturally attracted to people’s homes and especially their gardens. But even a city dweller can attract wrens to their home by adding places for the birds to eat, drink, and build their nests.

Other Info About Wrens

Except for some areas of Southern California, the House Wren is a migratory bird. The others are primarily non-migratory, year-round residents throughout their ranges.

Attracting Wrens to Your Yard

You can draw birds and make it easier for them to settle in your backyard by designing a landscape with lots of trees, bushes, and lush gardens. You can make it even simpler to draw nesting birds to your garden by hanging a few wren houses there.

Once the wrens have established their home in your yard, they will return year after year to the same nest, so you will be rewarded with these gregarious little songbirds every year.

What Do Wrens Eat?

The house wren’s diet consists mostly of insects. This includes beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, flies, moths, spiders, and even the occasional snail. Lush garden areas can be an excellent source of food since they attract plenty of insects for the birds to eat.

Additionally, trees and shrubs will give insects a great place to hunt. The wrens will search fallen leaves, tree bark, and tall grasses for insects to eat.

You can also add a mealworm feeder to increase the amount of food your wrens have access to. The mealworm is the chickadee and wren’s favorite food.

how to attract wren birds

Having an abundance of water in your backyard is another method to draw wrens.

Since wrens are parched birds, having a birdbath or water feature is a great way to attract and keep them around.

Small twigs, plant debris, animal hair, and even their own discarded feathers are used by wrens to construct their nests. The wrens have the ideal supply of materials to construct their nests in the delicate twigs and grasses that are scattered throughout your landscape.

how to attract wren birds

When foraging, wrens prefer to be in areas with lots of cover to protect them from predators. Trees, shrubs, and man-made buildings like sheds, garages, and barns all offer cover.

The male wren will construct multiple nests in the vicinity, allowing the female to select her own location. He will then sing to the females, extending an invitation for them to move in.

Experts advise hanging three wren houses 20 to 50 feet apart. This will increase the appeal of your yard to males seeking to build nests and provide plenty of opportunities for prospective mates.

FAQ

What is the best food for wrens?

Wrens will take small mealworms offered on the bird table and will also be attracted by Prosecto Insectivorous Mix, and Golden Chorus. The wren is one of Europe’s smallest birds and spends most of its time near the ground in bushes and thickets.

How do you befriend a wren?

Not a common feeder bird, you can attract Wrens to your backyard feeders with offerings such as suet, live mealworms, and Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter®.

What type of bird houses attract wrens?

To attract Wrens, the most important aspect of the bird house is the hole. Make sure the diameter is no larger than 1 1/4″, which is large enough for all types of Wrens and Black-capped Chickadees to use, but too small for House Sparrows. Tree Swallows will also use this type of house.

Where is the best place to hang a wren bird house?

Position your House Wren box in an open woodland, a forest edge, or in a swampland. Because Wrens are a particularly territorial species, do not place boxes near boxes intended to attract other species of birds like Western Bluebirds.