An insect eater, it prefers spiders and bugs. New FeederWatcher and long-time birder John Greenly of Lansing, New York, supports these findings. I've witnessed Carolina Wrens breeding and wintering here every year for the last seven years. He has rarely seen Carolina Wrens at his feeders. Continentwide, from the middle of November to the middle of April, nearly 13,000 Feeder-Watchers observe birds while recording data on various species, weather conditions, and food used during the winter season.
Watchers then send their data forms to the Lab.
These forms are used to update findings such as those on Carolina Wren population changes. The 1995 Project FeederWatch geographic map shows where Carolina Wren populations pack the southeastern United States. Diane Tessaglia-Hymes, research coordinator for PFW, is excited about tracking Carolina Wren population changes throughout the species' range. She says that changes in the wren's expansion and reduction are cyclical and believes that warmer weather locally, possibly related to El Ni o , could cause wren populations to rise in the coming year. Her prediction is based on PFW data collected over the past 10 years.