Binoculars and field guides are useful tools for visually identifying birds. Birding-by-ear skills are just as important, as birds are often heard before being seen. Thankfully, modern technology makes this easy with apps that feature multiple bird sounds, such as songs, contact calls and alarm calls.
Apps should not be used in the field to intentionally “call in” birds. Instead, play the sounds softly to help identify what you’re hearing. Sounds from apps, often referred to as “playback,” create false alarms that cause birds to unnecessarily expend energy looking for someone who isn’t there and may expose them to predators. The use of playback should be limited to conservation efforts that benefit birds. For example, a scientist may call in an endangered species to prove it lives in a particular place to gain support for preserving the habitat.
Some birds, such as the Canada goose, American crow and red-breasted nuthatch, have distinct calls and songs that make identification easy. Others, including the pileated woodpecker and northern flicker, may at times sound similar and require greater skills to differentiate.
A group of songbirds with big voices are the wrens. Each one is unique, with its own habitat preference and distinctive song. There are 11 species of wrens in North America. Ten live in the United States. Six wrens reside in Washington. Three species are year-round residents of West Sound: the marsh wren of wetlands, the Pacific wren of forests and the Bewick’s wren of open, scrubby areas.
The Bewick’s wren may be the most recognizable local “little brown bird.” Incessant hyperactivity combined with a long tail, prominent white eyebrow and white throat and underparts make it easy to identify. It’s named for Thomas Bewick, a friend of John James Audubon, who collected the first recorded specimen.
The Bewick’s wren is a fairly common year-round resident of the West Coast, American Southwest, lower Plains states and Mexico. Its preferred habitat consists of any low-elevation combination of open scrubby areas with thickets, desert scrub, open forests and gardens.
Monogamous pairs often forage together for insects, grubs and other invertebrates. Constantly on the move, the Bewick’s wren hops about gleaning lower tree branches and shrubs, probes bark crevices and scratches through leaf litter on the ground. It occasionally eats seeds and fruit in winter and may also visit backyard suet feeders. After a satisfying meal, the Bewick’s wren may wipe its bill up to 100 times on a branch, using it as a napkin.
As is typical of wrens, when flying through an open area, the Bewick’s wren minimizes its exposure to predators with a quick, direct, fluttery flight to its destination.
The Bewick’s wren nests in a cavity or ledge up to 30 feet above ground level. Almost any place is suitable, including woodpecker holes, rock crevices and brush piles. Even nooks in man-made objects, such as old cars and outbuildings, are utilized.
The male selects the nest site and both parents build a nest cup of sticks, moss, grass or leaves in a process that normally takes a week, or longer if there are construction delays.
Pairs raise one to three broods per breeding season. The clutch size is three to eight eggs. The entire process from egg laying to chicks fledging takes about a month.
The Bewick’s wren is often located audibly, either by its song or contact calls as it flits about shrubs and brush. Males are master vocalists who belt out a repertoire of short whistles, trills and warbles to attract a mate. Songs can be heard across a distance. Raspy calls are used to ward off predators. A male uses his singing voice to acquire his territory. Dueling males sing furiously within a stone’s throw of one another in hopes of claiming the territory.
The young male learns his song by listening to nearby adult males. Within 30-60 days of age, he develops his own songs with a unique, melodious signature. Thus, no two Bewick’s wrens sound exactly alike.
The Bewick’s wren was once common in the Midwest and the Appalachian Mountains but is now considered a rarity east of the Mississippi River. The range expansion in the eastern United States of its cousin, the northern house wren, may have extirpated the Bewick’s wren population there. This is likely due to an increased number of nest boxes and the northern house wren’s tendency to remove another bird’s eggs from a desired nest cavity.
In contrast, populations in the West are stable and may even be increasing since it’s one of the few species that benefits from forest fragmentation due to its preference for forest edges.
The energetic Bewick’s wren is a fun bird to watch. This proficient singer is hard to ignore. It’s a perfect bird to help beginning birders practice audible identification skills.
Comments