Marsh Wren Gallery

All of these pictures are from Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, taken either on the auto tour or the Kiwa Trail.

A marsh wren sings from atop a cattail at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Won’t Get Fooled Again?

I noticed a pair of marsh wrens building a nest along the auto tour and stopped for a look. After several unsuccessful attempts to photograph the wrens, I decided I wouldn’t get fooled again and attempt any more pictures of the pair. But the energetic little singers drew me in again and again until I eventually got some nice pictures.

After watching them for many hours, I felt a great deal of both admiration and sympathy for the little wrens. They didn’t stay still long so as not to raise the ire of the red-winged blackbirds who had also nested just a few feet away and who mobbed anything and everything at the top of the cattails. They ducked when swallows swooped in until they were sure the flyovers were neither hawks nor blackbirds. While gathering food for the nest, they’d often sit down in the tall grass beside my car until the coast was clear.

But their desire to sing was so irrepressible that even if the blackbirds chased them down into safety below, the wrens didn’t stay down for long but soon popped back up to sing their hearts out.

A marsh wren preens atop a cattail at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Psst! Hey Buddy, Wanna Buy A Watch?

Marsh wrens serve a vital role in sloughs across the Pacific Northwest, acting as fences of shoddy or stolen merchandise. Be on your guard should one spot you, as it’s hard to resist their low, low prices!

One nice thing about this view of a preening marsh wren is that you can see the little white arrows that shoot down the dark patch at the top of its back, my favorite aspect of their plumage.

A marsh wren with nesting material it has plucked from a cattail at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Plucky

Early one spring morning along the auto tour I stopped to watch a struggling ruddy duck. It listed strongly to one side, and often swam in circles, then flipped over and swam on its side. It was able to dive but was clearly working very hard just to move around and keep its head above the water.

It saddened me to watch the plucky little ruddy, but my mood brightened a little when this little marsh wren popped into view. It had been singing further away in the marsh, occasionally flying over to other parts to sing, and then flew over near me to pluck some of this soft pillowy material from the top of the cattail (which you can see in its bill in the picture).

The little wren then flew back to one of its favorite singing locations, I suppose to add some softness to the lining of its nest.

Marsh wren singing in its winter plumage at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Winter Coat

A singing marsh wren shows off its winter colors on a surprisingly warm winter’s day at the auto tour of Ridgefield’s River S Unit.