Entries Tagged 'Bird-by-Bird' ↓

The Sedge Wren, whose name was changed to differentiate it from the Marsh Wren, is a tiny, rambunctious, energetic bird. Their call sounds like an insect, which is hard to identify unless familiar with their song. This cute wren, (as if any wren species were not cute), is one bird we believe does not get enough publicity.

In our midwest birding travels, we have come across the Sedge Wren in various prairie habitats. They like not-too-wet praires, bog habitats, and marshy areas. Though secretive, they can be found in many different places across North America and beyond.

Many unconnected Sedge Wren populations occur throughout the Americas, from Canada to Terra del Fuego.

The Sedge Wren is one of the most nomadic territorial birds in North America. On a given area, it may be present in numbers in one year, and be completely absent the next. –Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Two great places in our area to find them is at Horicon Marsh’s Bud Cook Trail located in Horicon, Wisconsin, and Deer Run Forest Preserve in Rockford, Illinois.

Chivirín sabanero is their name in Spanish, mentioned just because we think it sounds cool.

Sedge habitats are one of the most hard to define yet important areas to study, along with prairies and savannas. Much more conservation work is needed to save some of these precarious areas.

The American Redstart is flashy and great fun to watch.

Their range extends as far as northern South America up to Canada.

Finding this crazy warbler is the easy part, it’s keeping them in your bins that can be rather difficult. They move constantly, catching insects, zipping around and fanning their tail.

Their numbers are declining along with many neotropical birds. There are studies being done by organizations such as Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative researching the status of songbirds such as the American Redstart.