Wren

Above and below: Wrens.

Wrens are one of the smallest birds in the UK. They are resident and can be easily found at any time of year. Easiest time to spot them and photograph them is spring, when they perch openly and belt out their distinctive song at a surprising volume for such a small bird.

Not particularly colourful but non-the-less interesting birds that should not be under-rated. They are mostly brown will a noticeably paler chin, throat, cheeks and eye-brow stripe. The wings and flanks show some soft barring and the short brown tail is often held cocked. The beak is dark above and pale below and the legs are a fairly pale reddish-brown.

They occur in most gardens, parks, scrubland, woodland, in fact any habitat with a degree of vegetation and plenty of insects and spiders. They are fond of log files and will spend hours searching through every crack and gap for a bug or spider.

If you have them in your garden you can rig up a hide of some sort to get close enough for a picture, and you do need to be close as these are very small birds. If they aren't in your garden, there are places to go to see these guaranteed. The best places I know, in order of preference for me, 1. The Frank Lindley hide at Woolston Eyes (although you'll need a permit), 2. The Boyd Observatory at Rostherne, 3. The hide overlooking Budworth Mere at Marbury Country Park and 4. Bunting Hide at Pennington Flash. All of these places are almost guaranteed to give good photo opportunities of wrens, particularly in early spring. I could list a lot more as these birds really are so common.