I could hear rustling in the fallen leaves along one of the trails yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but had trouble determining what was making the noise. Most of the time, sparrows fly away in similar situations, but this little creature seemed to be crawling about, moving in one direction undeterred by my presence. When I finally got a partial glimpse of it, I realized that it was a Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis).
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the appearance and behavior of the Winter Wren in these words, “It sports a palette of browns with dark barring on the wings, tail, and belly. It habitually holds its tiny tail straight up and bounces up and down. This rather weak flier hops and scampers among fallen logs mouselike, inspecting upturned roots and vegetation for insects.” Wow. I don’t recall any other instance of the term “mouselike” being used to describe a bird, but it fits pretty well.
The little Winter Wren was a ball of energy, moving all the time in and out of the vegetation, making it hard to track and even harder to photograph. Eventually it hopped up onto a perch for a few seconds and I was able to capture the first two images. Most of the time, though, it was hidden in the undergrowth, even when it was mostly exposed as in the final image, which gives you a good idea of its habitat.
I really encourage you to click on the images to get a closer view of the different shades of brown and detailed patterns on this beautiful little Winter Wren.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
