Winter Wren

Presquile Provincial Park, Brighton, Ontario

I'm still posting the results of my trip to Presquile on Tuesday. This Winter Wren was a new bird for my list. I was very fortunate to get this picture. It was at the very end of the day. I was doing the Marsh Boardwalk and was just heading back to the car. You can see the dry bulrushes in the background. This is just on the edge of the swamp and here is the Wren sitting on a dead log. I was walking by and he began calling loudly in what Sibley calls a "hard, double-note jip-jip." I looked for him and he hopped into view. I set down the scope and watched him with my binoculars. He was moving from spot to spot but I decided to try to scope him even though I was fairly close. I got the scope on him, he paused on this dead branch, and I pushed the button on the camera. I really didn't know if I had anything until I got home. Sibley says that this Wren is "Uncommon in damp shaded areas, such as at edges of wooded swamps, where it climbs around fallen logs and overturned stumps." This fit exactly his location and behavior. It was an exciting conclusion to a very enjoyable day of birding.