Wrens need each other to survive the cold winter

IF I step out of my front door these days I am surrounded by baby wrens.

They are tiny — more like big bumble bees than small birds — balls of dark brown with a little tail cocked out at one end and beady eyes and a sharp beak at the other. My appearance startles them and they fly away clumsily for a few metres and then settle. But they’re really quite fearless and, after their initial surprise, they let me approach to within a metre or so before they buzz into flight again.

This must make them vulnerable. Luckily my dog has no interest in wrens and my cat is very old.