What they like

Messy corners with cover. Dense hedges, brambles, ivy, brush piles, stacks of prunings. Low shrubs you can hardly get through. In parks and yards: leave leaves under hedges and shrubs. In agricultural areas: make ragged edges, hedgerows and shelterbelts wide and dense. Plant hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, dog rose and elder. Add some nettles and cow parsley and watch how it teems.

Ecological importance

A little insect vacuum. Eats mainly spiders, insects and larvae from leaf litter and undergrowth. Less “tidy” management = more prey = more wrens. They are themselves prey for the sparrowhawk and cats; so give them prickly, dense hiding places.

When in the Netherlands

All year round. In winter they like to hide in ivy, sheds, woodpiles and dense hedges. In severe frost numbers can plummet, after which they often recover.

Status

Common breeding bird. Numbers fluctuate markedly after cold winters.