Every year, there are several pairs of little Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) that live around my house. They are always a lot of fun to have around because they are an interesting combination of inquisitive and just plain amusing. Like most small songbirds, they are little bundles of energy, and unless you happen to catch a bird incubating eggs, they are busy, busy, busy. They will pop out of hiding places to look around for predators or for food sources. At one minute they will be quite wary, and the next they will be perched right next to me, or trying to build a nest in the doghouse or even my house. This last year one built a nest on my window sill next to the air conditioner. One of their strategies to keep predators away from the eggs and the young is to build multiple nests, but only use one. When I used to work at the nature park, the rafters of our covered boat dock would be full of little nests by the end of summer. Once we were sure that the breeding season was well over, we would have to remove all the nests, so there would be room for new ones in the spring. They’re also well known for building nests in potted plants, and a friend of mine had one build a nest in a baseball cap that she hung just inside her front door. The breeding season is over now, and no new nests must be built, but their activity has redirected itself towards fattening up for winter. Since they’re insectivores, they are very fond of mealworms, but they also eat quite a bit of suet this time of year, too. Since we’ve had several light frosts now, much of our fall plant and insect life is gone, so there isn’t as much natural food, either. This little wren lives around the back of my house, and always builds at least one nest on the back porch. Now that fall is quickly heading into winter, both the wrens and the oven birds are vying for mealworms and dropped bits of suet. They take turns popping out from underneath the porch, checking out the area, and if they feel safe filling up on high energy treats.