Marsh Wren
Cistothorus palustris
Across most of the North American continent, from southern Canada to southern Mexico, Marsh Wrens can be found during some part of the calendar year. Winters are spent between southern USA and Mexico, and they make summer homes between southern Canada and northern USA. Scattered throughout this range, in places like the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts, there are pockets where these birds will stay year-round. The Great Basin and parts of the Colorado Plateau are also locations where there are year-round resident birds.
The Marsh Wren’s song has been described as “a loud gurgle”. These suitably named, birds makes their homes wherever they find suitable wetlands. There are significant differences between the eastern and the western forms of this bird. Some believe them to be separate species.
The male Marsh Wren is a prolific nest builder. In a typical breeding season he will take two mates and build a half-dozen dummy nests for each female to choose one as her own. Some males have been observed building more than twenty nests in a single season.
In spring and summer it is easy to locate these small bundles of energy by simply listening during a visit to a suitable wetland habitat. I have enjoyed watching their acrobatic maneuvers, doing the splits on separate stems, and bouncing through the reeds with tails bent at an impossible angle over their backs while scolding all interlopers.

Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Hookton Slough in the Humbolt Bay National Wildlife Reserve south of Eureka California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:15 9:21 |
Location:
Humbolt Bay NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/400 |
File Name: D3X0626-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Hookton Slough in the Humbolt Bay National Wildlife Reserve south of Eureka California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:15 9:22 |
Location:
Humbolt Bay NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/320 |
File Name: D3X0642-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Hookton Slough in the Humbolt Bay National Wildlife Reserve south of Eureka California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:15 9:25 |
Location:
Humbolt Bay NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/7.1, 1/320 |
File Name: D3X0665-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, 17 miles west of Brigham City Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:12 9:58 |
Location:
Bear River |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: D3X1787-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, 17 miles west of Brigham City Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:12 9:59 |
Location:
Bear River |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X1805-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Lots of nesting by these wrens in these wetlands. Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, 17 miles west of Brigham City Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:12 10:08 |
Location:
Bear River |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X1835-MarshWren-Nest |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: At the Dairy Mart "Stick Pond" in the Tijuana River Valley. San Ysidro, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:02:01 10:46 |
Location:
Dairy Mart Ponds |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: D3X6151-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: At the Dairy Mart "Stick Pond" in the Tijuana River Valley. San Ysidro, California. San Diego County. |
Date Taken: 2015:02:01 10:47 |
Location:
Dairy Mart Ponds |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D3X6183-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms south of Bicknell, Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:07 15:03 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X9847-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms south of Bicknell, Utah. |
Date Taken: 2015:05:07 15:04 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: D3X9853-MarshWren |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Location is the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, south of Klamath Falls Oregon in California. |
Date Taken: 2016:05:05 10:12 |
Location:
Lower Klamath NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D7200, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: D720313-MarshWren |
© 2016 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Ramer Lake in the Salton Sea Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:11:22 13:47 |
Location:
Salton Sea |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/60 |
File Name: JCD1462MarshWren |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: There is no shortage of Marsh Wrens in the wetlands south of the Salton Sea. Vendel Road. Salton Sea Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:12:01 11:00 |
Location:
Vendel Road |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: JCD3353MarshWren |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Ramer Lake in the Salton Sea Vicinity. Imperial County, California. |
Date Taken: 2008:11:22 13:47 |
Location:
Salton Sea |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/60 |
File Name: Cut_JCD1462MarshWren |
© 2008 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Juvenile at Colusa NWR, near Williams, Northern California. |
Date Taken: 2003:12:18 12:17 |
Location:
Colusa NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D1X, 800 mm, f/9.0, 1/320 |
File Name: JCD_5251MarshWren |
© 2003 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: A frustratingly elusive bird at Ramer Lake not far from the Salton Sea in Imperial County California. |
Date Taken: 2017:01:17 10:32 |
Location:
Rockwood |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: MarshWren_D5X3265 |
© 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms along the Fremont River in South Central Utah. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:14 8:08 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: MarshWren_D5X3186-BicknellBottoms |
© 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: Bicknell Bottoms along the Fremont River in South Central Utah. |
Date Taken: 2017:08:14 8:08 |
Location:
Bicknell Bottoms |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: MarshWren_D5X3179-BicknellBottoms |
© 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: At the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge near Willows California (USA). |
Date Taken: 2019:01:21 13:55 |
Location:
Sacramento NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: MarshWren_D507057-Sacramento-NWR |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Marsh Wren(Cistothorus palustris) |
Description: A vocal resident seen at the Merced National Wildlife Reserve on 2019-01-26, twelve miles southwest of the town of Merced, Merced County California (USA). |
Date Taken: 2019:01:26 12:41 |
Location:
Merced NWR |
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: MarshWren_D507088-Merced-NWR |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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