I was walking around Pintail Pond at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve when I heard this fascinating bird song in the reeds very close by. I inched my way closer until I spotted a small wren in the reeds right in front of me. I took a couple of shots and then tried to get a better view, but it kept hiding down in the grass and reeds. It turned out there were at least three of these Marsh Wrens in through that stretch. I pursued different ones trying to get a close, unobstructed shot. It was hard, but I did get a few decent shots. At one point while creeping in down low, I happened to notice one of their nests right in front of me. If you look close you'll see it in the bottom photo. The opening to the nest is right in the middle of the image. I waited for a while to see if I could get a shot of it at the nest, but gave up after a while thinking I didn't want to disturb it too much. All-in-all it was great fun.
Male Marsh Wrens build many dummy nests. The female builds the nest in which the eggs are laid. Fascinating bird! I am reading Kroodsma's "The Singing Life of Birds." Turns out that Marsh Wrens sing 200-300 learned songs in the west, 40-50 in the East, of a different type. Eastern and Western song types in Saskatchewan are given by birds in the same marsh, indicating they are different species!
ReplyDelete