Monday, August 6, 2012

Rock Wren

I've been wanting to go to Smith Rock State Park for some time. I've been there before, years ago, when my kids were young and before I renewed my birding hobby.  
Birding Oregon lists some potential life birds for me there and it didn't take long for me find some on an early Sunday morning back on July 22nd.  After my first sightings of White-throated Swifts at the top of the cliffs, I came across this Rock Wren. It was flitting among some rocks near a small grove of pines. There was a large boulder along the trail there setting at a fork in the trail which lead up to the cliffs providing access for rock climbers. I decided to use this boulder as a make shift blind and snapped the picture above while positioned there. 

The wren slowly made its way around to the back side of the boulder and, as I waited, it eventually popped its head up on the opposite side of the rock.  There I was, with this Rock Wren almost too close to take a picture. We stared at each other for a bit (I love these situations!) and then it scurried across the top of the rock and perched on a pine branch a little further from me.

This was actually a good thing as I was better able to get good pictures of it.  The sun angle wasn't ideal, but I'm not going to complain. :-)
I saw several Rock Wrens as I made my way around the River Trail, but these were by far the best views I got that day.

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