{"id":1780,"date":"2011-05-15T15:31:42","date_gmt":"2011-05-15T21:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/featheredphotography.wordpress.com\/?p=1780"},"modified":"2011-05-30T07:59:33","modified_gmt":"2011-05-30T13:59:33","slug":"marsh-wrens-of-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/15\/marsh-wrens-of-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Marsh Wrens of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0This week I was finally able to get some decent images of Marsh Wrens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

In the past these birds have always been buried too deeply in vegetation for me to get shots I liked but a couple of days ago they finally cooperated with me.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/1600, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

Marsh Wrens have incredibly interesting behaviors.\u00a0 For example, western males must learn up to 200 different songs (eastern birds only learn about 50).\u00a0 Perhaps that’s why these males sing so much – it would take a lot of practice to learn that many “tunes”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/1600, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

These birds are extremely territorial and aggressive.\u00a0 They are polygynous (males mate with multiple females) and in order to attract females the male builds from 6 to 22 “dummy” nests for every one that is actually used to raise a brood of chicks.\u00a0 We could see several of these nests buried in the cattails along the refuge road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

According to the Bear River Blog many of these nests were destroyed by our recent stormy weather and heavy rains so many of these males have had to start over.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

Marsh Wrens of both sexes regularly destroy eggs and chicks of other birds near their territories, including those of other Marsh Wrens.\u00a0 This behavior is thought to be a method of preserving the food source for their own brood.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

In one study, Marsh Wrens destroyed up to 52% of the Red-winged Blackbird nests in a British Columbia marsh.\u00a0 But the aggression works both ways.\u00a0 RWBB’s regularly attack singing Marsh Wrens and Yellow-headed Blackbirds jump up and down on wren nests, compressing them and making them unusable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/2500, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

The amount of time these males spend singing during\u00a0nesting season is truly impressive.\u00a0\u00a0It is thought that the singing has multiple functions:\u00a0 establishing and maintaining breeding territories, stimulating the “current” female to allow mating\u00a0and\u00a0attracting additional females to his multiple nests.\u00a0 Females do not “sing”, in the usual sense of the word.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

Last years cattails are their favorite singing perch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Cattails are also used heavily in nest construction – strips of leaves for the shell of the nest and the fluffy “down” for the lining (interestingly, snake skins are sometimes used in nest construction).\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Marsh<\/em><\/p>\n

Canon 7D, 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n

What a morning I had with the Marsh Wrens.\u00a0 These saucy little birds have a heck of an attitude!<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0This week I was finally able to get some decent images of Marsh Wrens.\u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc In the past these birds have always been buried too deeply in vegetation for me to get shots I liked but a couple of days ago they finally cooperated with me. \u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 1\/1600, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc Marsh Wrens have incredibly interesting behaviors.\u00a0 For example, western males must learn up to 200 different songs (eastern birds only learn about 50).\u00a0 Perhaps that’s why these males sing so much – it would take a lot of practice to learn that many “tunes”.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 1\/1600, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc These birds are extremely territorial and aggressive.\u00a0 They are polygynous (males mate with multiple females) and in order to attract females the male builds from 6 to 22 “dummy” nests for every one that is actually used to raise a brood of chicks.\u00a0 We could see several of these nests buried in the cattails along the refuge road.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc According to the Bear River Blog many of these nests were destroyed by our recent stormy weather and heavy rains so many of these males have had to start over.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Canon 7D, 1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc Marsh Wrens of both sexes regularly destroy eggs and chicks of other birds near their territories, including those of…<\/p>\n

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