outdoor photography

Marsh Wren Wrens do not top the list of birds that are difficult to identify, but for newer birders they can present a challenge. With practice they can be identified by their calls and songs alone--they're vocal enough that they can frequently be detected and identified without being seen.  But at first glance, they tend to look similar--little brownish birds that like to stick up their tails in the air.  We have four wrens species that are commonly found in Central Florida, and with a little bit of practice, they can easily be distinguished from each other by looking at their eye stripe and a couple other field marks. We'll look at each of our wren species in order of the prominence of their eye stripe. Marsh Wren Marsh Wren (note dark cap, bold eye stripe, and dark back) Marsh Wrens are winter visitors to Central Florida, and they very common in our cattail marshes from October through April.  They have an extremely prominent eye-stripe with a dark crown an...

Marsh Wren Right near the entrance of the North Tract of the Lake Jesup Conservation Area, there's a little pond with a couple very vocal Marsh Wrens. One of them was very photogenic and allowed me to get a few photos. I found this bird a couple weeks ago, and I'm just getting around to posting them. These are some of my favorite photos of the species. Marsh Wren Marsh Wren Marsh Wren

Marsh Wren Marsh Wrens are beautiful birds found, you guessed it, in marshes.  They can look very similar to Sedge Wrens , and in fact, Sedge Wrens were once known as "Short-billed Marsh Wrens."  There are two relatively easy ways to distinguish them, though.  Marsh Wrens have a thick white eye stripe and no streaking on the crowns of their heads. Marsh Wren Marsh Wren Marsh Wren with missing tail

Marsh Wren I had a soggy but fun hour at Lake Jesup Park (on Sanford Ave) this morning. I walked the wet, grassy path to the row of palm trees, and then walked along those trees for a few minutes before turning back. It was fun to see/hear an American Bittern, Sedge Wren and two Swamp Sparrows (all too far away or hidden for photos), but a Marsh Wren came very close to me, and I was able to get some of my best photos of this species.  The first two photos here are actually two different crops of the same image. I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I decided to show them both. Marsh Wren This third image illustrates the benefit watching the background while photographing.  In the shot below, the bird is at a slightly different position, and the background is a little more cluttered than I would like. He's also facing the "wrong" way, so that the branch is nearly "touching" the wren's bill in the photo.  In the images above, the wren is in ...

Tricolored Heron It's been interesting to witness the changes in what I've been seeing at Central Winds. Some species are disappearing from the park, like Yellow and Prothonotary Warblers, but this morning I had my first Blackpoll Warbler of the fall, and I also found a Marsh Wren at the shore of Lake Jesup. I found seven other warblers there: Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, and a Yellow-throated Warbler. Marsh Wren Anhinga