I knew we had a lot of Wrens around our property, as I have counted 8 or 10 queuing up to root behind the ends of the barge boards on our old farmhouse in a previous winter. However, tonight was something else. I noticed one of our cats watching something through the bedroom window. I thought for a moment it might be bats (one flew into the house the other night after our son had left his attic velux window open). Anyway, I stood quietly and watched and realized it was wrens coming to roost above our window aperture. The walls are a couple of feet and more thick so a good space for them above the window. I could hear the scratching of little feet as each wren joined the others, and could just imagine them moving along to make room for the newcomers. Well, I don't know how many were already in there, but I must have watched between 40 and 50 arrive. Some well grown adult birds but others looked smaller and probably more juvenile. I rarely see them in the garden, but we are surrounded by farmland and our own paddock has a mature copse close to the house and there is plenty of hedgerow for them too.

I know when we first came here, we could hear birds in this same area above the window, and it was a nest site for something too, as we would be woken each morning by a chorus of "feed me"! I shall have to see if I can count them in as it gets dimpsy tomorrow night.

OH! How wonderful Aber, I WISH I could see so many.

Oh aber, how lovely!!!

Any chance of a photo or two??

Wow! I heard sometime ago you can get 12 wrens in a "tit box". We know we have bunches roosting in places as well but I think you are hitting the level of "Sanctuary".

OOH If Abers' house is a Wren Sanctuary, can I move in?

I don't think you'd fit behind the barge board Wren!!!

I will try and take some photos tomorrow. They were hanging over the guttering, checking if their turn had come; they were perched on the edge of the windowsill; they were clinging to the edge of the wall; they were even clinging onto the glazing bars sometimes . . . Just an amazing sight!

What a lovely thing to have seen My darling Rs garden always has lots of wrens in it & theres a few that scuttle around in the farm yard out the back here as well,dear little things they are,so tiny!

Wee Jenny Wrens .

What about sending an e-mail to Spring Watch to see if they want to come and film them Aberlemno? They might be interested if there are so many.

Are there bats about just now? We don't usually see any in the winter.

Pod - bats - nor do we - but this was a biggish beefy one (not Pipistrelle) and I saw it from zoom at my face distance! I had to open the window in here, and when it flew into the room again, shut the door behind it until is went out.

I had thought of contacting Springwatch actually and wondered if they'd be interested . . . Their cameras are far better than mine!

I'm SURE I could try and fit behind your barge board Aber. It HAS been said that bits of me have the dimensions of a barge.

I bet Spring Watch would be amazed at how many Wrens you have there, go on, contact them hun.

AAAw thats just lovely. I think the record for a roost is 67, they said something about it on Autumn watch or Snow watch .... but AAAAAAAAWWWWW

I wonder what the social rules are? Who finds it ? Who tells who? You can imagine several birds roosting together have an advantage but when it gets to that size you need a big space and there are more then just a few friends and family... Perhaps its a convention?

What is the collective noun for a group of wrens?

A crush or wrens
A twitter of wrens
A snug of wrens
A puff of wrens
A pompom of wrens................

It's either a Herd (hah! Very appropriate with my lot) or a Chime, which I think is lovely. Greenrabbit - a snug of wrens seems very apt!

Zoe - I'm not sure how many are extended family groups - there were some obvious juvenile birds waiting to go in. There is a definite pecking order, as I saw that displayed with the ones going in the front of the house a couple of years back. Someone was writing about a particularly nasty bird in his roost, which the other birds all had to creep past, getting pecked for their impertinence!

I used to have a chicken like that. Ended up having to remove her at their bed time for a few nights to take her down a peg or two .

Blimey - would you believe I counted 71, yes SEVENTY ONE! - Wrens going into their bedroom above my window? I think some squeezed under the eaves a little further along as I saw them fly there when it was getting full in the main abode . . .

A friend in Scotland told me of breaking down at night by the roadside, and whilst waiting for proper daylight was fascinated to see 18 wrens emerge from a discarded Coke can!

I will try for photos tomorrow night. I couldn't count and use the camera at the same time and besides, the windows are filthy as they are too high up to get a ladder to from outside, so I shall have to see what I can do tomorrow morning . . .

P.S. It is apparently not too early for Wren-s*x - blimey, and I thought Hen-s*x was fast! One flirty little madam was waggling her tail as she waited on the wall to go to bed and got her heart's desire!

71!!!

Aber, get on the phone/t'interweb to Springwatch!!!

Can't wait for the pics

CJ - just been trying, but perhaps I am very stupid as I can't seem to find a way of getting in touch as the board etc has been shut down. Contact the BBC direct perhaps? I can only find a comments type e-mail link on the Springwatch page so have posted there. I will try the Autumnwatch page in the morning, as more recent than Springwatch.

Wow!!! thats amazing

You may be able to post here Aber:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/autumnwatch/ ... _answ.html

Or put something up on Twitter (link is on the above page, I think)