What Do Wrens Eat in the Winter?

By Richard Worden

Wrens are intelligent, spirited creatures that have varied preferences for food. They’re a delight to have around, especially during the winter, because they are amusing to watch and hear. One way of attracting these charming winged creatures—and making them stay—is knowing what do wrens like to eat in the winter and providing them with food and shelter. 

Wrens eat insects, bugs, arthropods, and small animals in the winter. They also favor fruits, vegetables, and seeds, including berries and leafy greens. You will often find wrens hopping about on the ground, searching for food in bushes, downed tree trunks, branches, or cracks in the earth.

This article will discuss wrens and their various habits, including their diet, habitat, and nesting behavior. We will also discuss why many people love inviting wrens into their yard, some tips to make your yard irresistible in wintertime, and some of the downsides you must watch out for once you succeed. So let’s answer the question: What do wrens eat in the winter?

What Do Wrens Eat in the Winter Time?

Wrens eat mainly insects and bugs in the winter months. The creepy crawlies wrens love most include:

• Spiders
• Millipedes
• Ants
• Flies

Wrens love foraging for prey along the ground. You will often find them in their favored foraging spots, such as:

• Fallen branches
• Decaying wood
• Plants’ roots
• Cracks and crevices in the ground

These spots are great places to investigate and catch food. Occasionally, and if available, wrens will indulge in vegetables, fruits, and seeds.

Wrens are also particular about their water source. You will typically find them near one, so if you live near a lake or river, you can be sure to expect these friendly visitors in your yard. Having a pond or a birdbath is also a great way to attract these good-natured birds to your garden.

Should You Invite Wrens to Your Yard in the Winter?

It would be a treat to try and invite wrens to your backyard during the winter season. They are feisty little birds that are fascinating to observe, and they come offering various benefits. The dull and chilly winter nights can be more enjoyable with a flock of wrens flitting about in your garden.

Benefits of Having Wrens Around

Despite being undersized and seemingly inconsequential, wrens play significant roles in nature. Your garden will benefit greatly from having these friendly feathered guests around, especially during winter when you could use a bit more recreation and entertainment.  

Here are some of the perks of having wrens flitting about in your yard:

They’re Charming Singers

Wrens love singing, and they do it with enthusiasm. They typically sing in pairs and belt out songs that are delightfully complex and amusing. This impressive vocal range is why they have earned nicknames such as flutist wren, song wren, and southern nightingale wren.

They Have Voracious Appetites

Wrens are essentially insectivores. You can count on them to devour insects and pests in your gardens, such as spiders, grasshoppers, mites, and caterpillars. They also eat invertebrates, like worms, snails, and slugs. They can help keep your plants pest-free and keep them happy and thriving. Wrens also sometimes eat small animals, such as little frogs, fish, and lizards.

Drawbacks of Having Wrens Around

As with most birds, wrens can cause problems in your yard. Unfortunately, their diet includes seeds, fruits, and vegetables. They particularly love berries. If you grow such plants in your garden, the presence of wrens may become a nuisance. 

The good news is that there are simple and easy ways to keep your feathered friends away from your plants. If you’re successful, you can enjoy having wrens around your garden without worrying about your plants and crops. 

Here are some tips:

• Plant nettings. These serve as barriers between your plants and the birds. Opt for top quality, UV-resistant nettings so they can stand up to various weather conditions and aggressive attempts from birds and other animals. 
• Visual scare tactics. You can station objects near your plants to scare away wrens and other birds. Scarecrows, predator decoys, balloons with large, googly eyes, or reflective items like aluminum foils or mirrors will work well. Remember to move these items around regularly to prevent wrens from getting too familiar and keep them on their toes.  
• Auditory scare strategies. Position windchimes or ultrasonic bird repellents around your yard. Windchimes produce erratic sounds that scare wrens away, while ultrasonic repellents have motion sensors that trigger the device to emit sounds to chase away the birds. 
  
  

How To Attract Wrens In Winter

If you’re keen on welcoming a bevy of wrens in your yard for the winter, there are some tactics you can employ to help make your garden utterly enticing to them. Wrens are amiable creatures and undoubtedly easy to please. 

Here are some strategies you can use to encourage wrens to consider your yard their home:

Provide a Steady Supply of Food and Water

What wrens eat in the winter varies from insects and arthropods to vegetables, seeds, and fruits. With the scarcity of creepy crawlies and small animals moving about in your garden—they usually hide from the cold during the winter months—you might want to stock up on certain types of food that wrens love. 

Here are some tips and meal ideas:

• Berry-picking. Plant berry-producing plants early on so that the fruits are ready in wintertime. Wrens will enjoy eating them straight from the shrubs.
• Insect buffet. Resist the urge to swipe away spider webs around your yard. These can serve as excellent insect foraging spots for hungry wrens. 
• Bird feeders. You can hang bird feeders from trees or lay out trays with food. Fill them with seeds, bits of vegetables, and slices of fruit. Wrens also favor mealworms, peanut butter, and suet (a type of animal fat similar to lard).
• Bird baths. You can station shallow bird baths around your yard to attract thirsty and playful wrens. You can hit two birds with one stone (pun intended!) by building these birdbaths — they provide excellent drinking water sources and fun play areas for your feathered friends. Consider heated bird baths, especially if winters in your area are particularly harsh.
  
  

Provide an Ideal Habitat

Answering the question, ‘what do wrens eat in the winter?’ is only one part of attracting these gorgeous songbirds to your yard.

Wrens love having lots of cover and protection, especially during harsher winter months. Make sure to keep your winter bushes full and thriving. Pile some small tree branches, twigs, and dry leaves in strategic corners around your yard. Allow your winter flower bushes to grow wild and free. These will look attractive to wrens in search of safe, cozy, and suitable homes.

Offer Nesting Materials

Wrens live in dome-shaped nests, usually nestled securely inside hollow spaces. Interestingly, male wrens spend a lot of time building different nests to show off to the females. It takes a lot to impress female wrens, but once she makes her choice, she will help line the inside of the nest. 

You can stock up on nesting material to attract wrens to your yard. Create a little pile in obscure corners or make them readily available by spreading them over a small area. Here are some nesting materials you can collect:

• Feathers
• Animal fur
• Twigs
• Bark
• Roots
• Moss
• Grass
• Leaves
• Flowers
• Coco coir
• Shredded paper
  
  

What Do Wrens Eat In Winter...Conclusion

Wrens are bubbly, engaging birds that are a treat to welcome into your yard. They are amusing to watch and delightful to hear singing. Additionally, they help eliminate pesky pests that are sometimes challenging to remove from your plants.

Now you know the answer to the question, ‘what do wrens eat in the winter?’  Knowing what wrens eat in the winter will keep them coming back for more and, hopefully, decide to make your yard their home. You could also encourage them to stay by providing nesting material. Wrens can be among your picker-uppers during the drab months of winter. 

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Hi! I'm Richard Worden, the author and founder of We Know Birds.

Over 20 years ago I developed a keen interest in birds and birdwatching, and it has been my passion ever since. I am committed to spreading useful knowledge about birds to others so we might all enjoy them to the fullest.

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