Can you tell the difference between the wrens on your property?

Carolina wrens, unlike house wrens, live here year-round.

So Carolinas have a wing up, so to speak, on house wrens: They get first choice on nesting quarters. In fact, they’re well along with nest duties before migrant house wrens arrive.

Unfortunately, the house wren’s apparent disadvantage seems to endow them with an attitude. They’ll try their best to evict early nesters — whether Carolinas or bluebirds or chickadees or titmice — and move in themselves.

But this year, at our new residence, we’re amused (amazed?) at the two species’ behaviors. While at our previous residence, Carolina wrens moved to the woods after their first brood, seemingly to escape the persistent house wrens, here the house wrens have stayed at woods edge while Carolinas have moved onto the patio.

Now building their third nest this season, they’ve chosen one or the other of the two homegrown gourd nests hanging strategically on the patio, one from the wall lamp and the other from the downspout. This go-round, they seem to have chosen to return to the original nesting choice, just outside my office window.

Weighing in at about three-quarters of an ounce, Carolinas outweigh house wrens by almost double. Since Carolinas mate for life, the pair presents a coordinated and formidable front. Carving out a territory on which they stay year-round, foraging and roaming the area together, they build a strong defense — including against the more warring house wren.

More: Check out one of the area's most gorgeous (and rarely seen) birds

We noticed the pair almost as soon as we moved in last September. When we left leaf litter last fall among the patio pots of native plants, creating a small but amply filled habitat, we enjoyed their all-winter frequent foraging trips, flipping leaves, even burrowing under them to find the tasty insect eggs and larva that leaves sheltered.

Carolinas forage primarily on insects and spiders. Sometimes, though, they add berries to their diets, and in winter they pick at suet and peanut butter. And of course they feed their babies bugs. The native plants set out here in patio pots seem to fulfill at least part of their need because I see them scooting in and around the pots, plucking something tiny, then sailing off to the gourd, beaks full, prepared to feed their nestlings.

In spite of their endearing — or frustrating — habit of choosing nest sites, they’ve apparently been more than happy to accept the gourds for their nursery. More often, at our previous residence, in spite of the gourds also offered there, they preferred the newspaper delivery box. Or a discarded flowerpot or basket. Even my husband’s nail-apron pocket. Or inside the gas grill. Ah, no grilled steaks that year until babes fledged.

In my biased opinion, Carolina wrens are about as cute as birds come. They sing a cheerful song year round. That racing stripe across their faces gives them a distinctly classy look.

But it’s the tail that does it. Cocked almost straight up while foraging, the bird takes on a devil-may-care attitude that just melts my heart. Sure, the male drops his tail while singing, but then the song melts my heart. I’m just a real sap when it comes to these reddish-brown bundles of energy that nudge me awake with their loud, cheerful song.

Now I’ll have a front-row seat for wren family life, their gourd only six feet from my desk.

For more information about birds and bird habitat, see Sharon Sorenson’s books How Birds Behave, Birds in the Yard Month by Month, and Planting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard. Follow daily bird activity on Facebook at SharonSorensonBirdLady, or email her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Is that a Carolina wren or a house wren?