Marsh Wren

Just like last year, March is when the Marsh Wrens start singing.  Of course, a lot of birds start singing in March, it's just that it's hard to find Marsh Wren's when they aren't singing as they spend much of their time down low among the reeds of marshy areas.

 

It was a pretty dreary day a couple of Sunday's ago, but that didn't deter a few wrens at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge from composing their song of chirps, buzzes and warbles.

Though these shots were taken just outside my car at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge's auto tour, this is a small bird.  So I was lucky to have rented a 200 - 400mm zoom along with a 1.7x teleconverter.  That's boosts the zoom at 400mm to 680mm.  Multiply the 1.5x crop caused by the smaller sensor in my D90 and you have an equivalent 1020mm.

I really like the 200 - 400mm lens, but I prefer the 600mm Nikon offers.  Both have a wide open f-stop of 4.0, but in order to get the reach of the 600mm, I have to use the 1.7x teleconverter.  That increases the f-stop to over 6.0, slower than my current 70 - 300mm zoom.  With all the cloudy days we have here in western Oregon, I really want something faster.

   

Anyway, for such a tough bird to photograph, I've had pretty good luck at RNWR.  The car blind really does work out quite well.

Marsh Wren

This seems to be a good year for Marsh Wrens. Especially at RNWR. The area between markers 10 and 11 is thick with them. And since they are in fine Spring voice, they are much easier to find.

Marsh Wren

The Marsh Wrens were out in full force on Friday at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. There were several amongst the reeds along the road around marker 10. I also saw one Pacific Wren in the same area.
These wrens can be a challenge to shoot as they rarely sit still and tend to stick down low in the reeds. But in the spring they sing almost as much as they move, making it easier to find them, and, with a little patience, capture one in a moment of non-obstruction.

Marsh Wren

I've heard many and seen a few Marsh Wrens this Spring. They are difficult to shot since they are small, like to stay low in the reeds and don't stay still. I've had a couple of close encounters at RNWR. The images above were taken on two different visits during the past week.
The top image was near marker 10. It was just sitting out in the open on a branch. Rather unusual for a Marsh Wren in my experience. It had its back to me so most of the images were of the back of its head, but it looked back towards me nicely in this one.
The bottom image was taken about a week ago and is filed under "those that got away". This wren was taunting me by singing incessantly right along side my car, but rarely giving me a clear shot. This image was taken with it at its closest. Were it not for that blade of grass obstructing its head, it would have been my best picture of a Marsh Wren. Oh well, there will be other opportunities. :-)

Marsh Wren

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.