ML23279101

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Winter Wren along San Luis Obispo Creek, San Luis Obispo County, CA on 15 Jan 2015.

Observation details

Although we did not have high hopes of finding this bird, which had not been seen in over a month, I began hearing the continuing Winter Wren almost immediately upon waling under the bridge. Unlike previous encounters, which had been from the east side of the bridge and the north side of the creek, the bird was calling this afternoon from the densely vegetated slope on the south side of the creek maybe 50 meters west of the bridge, which made it a bit far for me to observe much detail through my 10 × 42 binoculars. We saw this bird primarily in close association with what appeared to be a fallen branch from a live oak that was being overgrown by the tangles and vines of various plants. Despite the distance I had little trouble hearing this bird giving the distinctive and “chimp” calls that were typically doubled and softer in quality than the calls of Pacific Wren. Although many observers feel that Winter Wren calls are like those of Song Sparrow, I would consider them to be far closer to the calls of Pacific Wren in their tempo and general quality, even if a bit softer and maybe more similar in tonal quality to the call of a Song Sparrow. This bird typically gave the doubled notes, even if mostly in series, but I noted once or twice a somewhat faster series that was not as obviously doubled. I never did hear this bird give the faster rattle that both of the winter-type wrens give when agitated. My views of this bird were brief and from a distance at which I had a hard time seeing much detail. What I could say was that this was a conspicuously small bird with a plump, if not rounded, body, and what seemed to be a proportionately large head, a slim and relatively short bill, a short neck, and a notably short tail that was cocked almost vertically upward. I had little chance of seeing the primary projection or even the wing shape, much on the legs or feet, or even the finer details of the length or shape of the bill or tail. In short, this bird looked typical for a Winter or Pacific Wren and it seemed smaller and shorter-tailed than a House Wren. I had equally difficult time seeing details of the plumage patterns as the structure. My overall impression was that this bird was similar in coverall coloration and even in the general patterns to a House Wren, but with a relatively conspicuous supercilium as opposed to a plain face or an eyering. The crown, upperparts, and wings were a cold, dark brown in color and probably not too different in color from a House Wren that we had seen at our previous stop, though maybe a shade darker. The underparts were paler than the upperparts but apparently more of a grayish-buff color than the bright, cinnamon-buff that is typical of Pacific Wren. Also apparent was at least some suggestion of a darker eyeline and a pale buff supercilium that was at least relatively conspicuous and about the same buff shade as the underparts. I have some recollection of seeing fine, dark barring on the wings, tail, and maybe also the flanks, but my clearer memories of the latter is that the flanks were somewhat darker than the throat and breast. The bill and eyes both appeared to be relatively dark, but I was unable to note any additional detail on the soft-parts. The bottom line is that I heard this bird calling in repeated bouts over an extended period of time (2:55-3:17 pm) and I thought these calls were typical of those of a winter Wren and somewhat different than those of a Pacific Wren. I also saw this bird well enough to be sure that it was either a Pacific or Winter Wren, and that it seemed to be a colder shade of brown overall than is typical of a Pacific Wren, but had it not been calling I doubt I could have identified it with any confidence as a Winter Wren in the strict sense. Rather amazingly, given the distance and light, Tom Benson was able to get a few photos of this bird, but I was not so fortunate.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 70D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

10000

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

1306 pixels x 1101 pixels

Original file size

1000.13 KB