Wrens (and friends)

October 26, 2024

Larch in the rimrock, west of Spokane, a home to the haunting notes of the Canyon wren

Born to chatter, and sing…

Although some wrens visit feeders for treats like sunflower seeds, they mostly eat bugs. It’s not something to which I’ve devoted scholarly field study—just part of a loose scoop of notions I’ve acquired through the osmosis of casual observations. So this encounter, captured in the photo below, made me laugh aloud at the time: a tiny house wren—with a mouthful of a bug—who’d wandered up behind me as I was photographing bluebirds last spring.

It’s a good place to start.

I visit marshes in the spring because that’s where so much of the action is. Courting, mating, splashing, scolding, hiding and so on. Everything from moose to marsh wrens drop by, sooner or later. All the North American wrens are small—most weigh less than an ounce—and Marsh wrens are nearly the tiniest of the suite. But they just bristle with energy and seemingly non-stop chatter. Last spring I stopped by a camas bog out past the pines a bit after midnight. I was hoping to see the Northern lights, but there was only starlight. I was surprised to hear that several marsh wrens were still chattering. In the dark. Here’s what it can sound like in daylight—the chattering of the Marsh wrens. They are so social as to be heartwarming. But I can’t imagine living with one.

Marsh wren, chattering from the cattails…

I’ve learned to recognize the calls of Bewick’s and Canyon wrens and (now) know where to look for them. The Canyon wren’s my favorite—as it is a hauntingly beautiful song, a descending scale of notes, that was featured in the Paul Winter Consort’s “River Run” composition.

Canyon wren, and its solo in Paul Winter Consort’s “River Run”

Winter wren

The smallest of the lot is the Winter wren, which sprints with all the passion and speed of high-strung chipmunks.

Bewick’s wren, always in a thicket…

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Rock wren, returning to the rocks in the recent burn area near Four Lakes, WA

and the supporting cast…

White-breasted nuthatch

The hyper-vigilant Red squirrel

Male Northern flicker

—tjc