Marsh Wren photo by Larry Jordan
After trying to photograph a Marsh Wren for weeks, this one popped up behind me while I was photographing a Peregrine Falcon at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. I had finally gotten some good captures earlier that day of a Marsh Wren building its nest but this fellow came right to me. Go figure!
The refuge marsh was thick with them that day as they become more obvious while building their nests. They called very loudly but didn’t always show themselves. You can hear the same call I was greeted with here.
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Oh, Larry, I am so envious! My wife and I heard perhaps a gazillion Marsh Wrens but not one showed up long enough or open enough to be photographed. Congrats on this one!
bob ks last blog post..Friday the 13th
Thanks Larry. I see they are in my area of western NY and we have lots of wetlands close to my house. At least I can listen for the call.. Michelle
Go figure! Sneaky little fellows. A similar thing happened to me last Wednesday. There was a wren of some type not 5 feet from me and it followed me down the creekbed for a while, but I never could see it. It sounded like a wren, was small and brownish and hid very well in thick shrubbery. It sounded very much like the song you posted, so maybe it too was a marsh wren.
Reds last blog post..Bird Photography Weekly #28
How lucky you are to have captured this elusive one. Great capture, Larry!
Gallicissas last blog post..Leopards galore
A very nice photo and worth waiting for! I find wrens hard to photograph too. They are so quick and tend to stay down in the grass.
Micks last blog post..Vagrant at Inskip
Nice photo. That reminds me that I need to head down to the river and see if the Marsh Wren I heard a few weeks has started building a nest. It would be fun to see it.
Sparveriuss last blog post..Bird Photography Weekly
Very nice photo Larry! This is a bird I have trouble photographing. They flit around so much.
MaineBirders last blog post..Parker River NWR
What a cutie. Great photo and story! Beautiful shots on the previous post too.
WisconsinBirders last blog post..Bird Photography Weekly – Bald Eagle
Beautiful shot Larry. The soft lighting adds to the composition
@Bob thanks. My friend Frank told me that when they are building their nests (right now in California) they are very vocal and if you happen to be near their nest site, if you watch long enough, you will eventually see them go to and fro from their nest as they build. I found that one of the birds would try to stay hidden and then pop up into plain view and chatter very loudly about 30 feet or more away from the nest to draw me away.
@Michelle they are very cool little birds and if you find them during nest building they are easier to observe
@Red very likely a Marsh Wren if you never saw it. I spent a long time a few weeks ago, looking for the little bird making the loud call from deep in the reeds. Like you, I followed it along a long stretch of a ditch, never even getting a good enough look at it. I identified it from the call. As I was trying to photograph it the entire time, one of my fellow birders said, “it sounds like he’s laughing at you” 🙂
@Amila thanks, I do feel like a lucky guy!
@Mick persistence sometimes pays off
@Wendy the nests are really cool. I did get a shot of the nest and one with the wren holding some wet plant material in its mouth. I will post them when I write the article on the Marsh Wren
@John I agree they are a bit challenging to capture
@Tammy thank you very much! I can’t believe your son got that great Bald Eagle photo! Great to see kids interested in birds and nature
@Thomas thanks very much. This shot was taken in late afternoon, no more than an hour before the sunset
Very beautiful birds. Great photos. :)))
Great image! Tail up, bright eye – love it!
The Zen Birdfeeders last blog post..Why Shade-Grown Coffee Matters to Birds
That certainly is a beautiful photo! What a nice bird!
Aprils last blog post..Bald Eagle Pair