Christine Smith (Country Diary, South Uist, 28 November) writes about the wrens sheltering from the cold in nest boxes. In the early 70s my father owned an old farmhouse just outside the village of Iden, near Rye in Sussex. There was a sudden severe cold snap one night near Christmas. We became aware as evening fell of a noise all round the house. Every bush and tree was alive with birds. They flew to the wall of the house and in a great wide river streamed up and under the eaves disappearing into the roof. The roof was huge and the wrens, for that was what they were, were, seemingly, endlessly streaming in. There were, I am sure, thousands. The house was later badly damaged by fire and the roof replaced. I’m sure access for birds was not considered. The original house was over 500 years old and I wonder if the wrens had built up their knowledge over hundreds of years and were coming from miles around. Now, that is all lost – nowhere to shelter and survive. It’s said wrens are among the most numerous birds, but I’m sure their numbers have declined in the last 40 years as access to buildings has been cut off. In the 70s we were unaware of the miracle we were seeing. We didn’t consider the astonishing fact that we were sharing our house with all those tiny bodies.
Christine Dixon
London
