Birds

A Winter Wren in Van Saun Park

December 15, 2013 by Corey 3 Comments

I would never have noticed the little brown job if it hadn’t “tuck-tucked” from a bush just after I walked past it. I turned around, got my bins up, and was entertained to see a tiny brown bird with an even tinier upturned brown tail scolding me. This is a bird that weighs about eight grams, less than 1/10,000th of what I do. Yet it was daring to take  exception to my presence and letting me know that I was unwelcome in no uncertain terms!

Of course by now you know what bird I am referring to, especially if you have bothered to read the title of this blog post. It was a Winter Wren and it, for whatever reason, did not like the fact that I was present!

I moved to where the sun was behind me and some low bushes were in front of me, spished for a bit, and the wren charged over and proceeded to put on a show. I have no idea what made this particular example of Troglodytes hiemalis so aggressive but I took advantage, tripping the shutter of my camera over three hundred times!

Winter Wren portrait

Do you think this Winter Wren was cooperative?

Winter Wren Troglodytes hiemalis

The wren made itself as tall as possible but for some reason I wasn’t intimidated.

Winter Wren with its wings open

Several times the Winter Wren would flap its wings without taking off. A dominance display?

Winter Wren

Though mostly brown, Winter Wrens really are pretty birds. (You can click to embiggen.)

Winter Wren feather detail

I included this just so you can get an appreciation for the exquisite detail in the wren’s feathers.

Winter Wren

What a spunky little bird!

Winter Wren

Now I just have to find a Pacific Wren in the eastern United States…

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I hope you liked these shots of a Winter Wren.  If you want to see more great images of birds check out our big and growing page of photo galleries, 10,000 Clicks!

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Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.