SE Colorado Birding

Birding and discussion: A conservation-oriented birding blog that emphasizes low-impact birding and sustainable birding practices together with the enjoyment of birds. Southeast Colorado offers a diversity of habitats which provide premiere birding opportunities. Save Sabal Palm

Saturday, May 12, 2007

More Carolina Wren action

While on the east section of the Canon City Riverwalk this morning, I heard a Carolina Wren singing. Likely the same wren I heard 3 days ago, it sang a song pretty close to what I heard then. Interestingly, the songs I have heard on this far eastern end of the Riverwalk are different from the Carolina Wren songs I have heard on the west end of the Riverwalk with the closest wren singing near the Rec District parking area which is more than a mile away. The furthest wren on the west side would be close to 2 miles from where I heard this wren singing.

That said, I am not implying that this is a different wren from the 2-3 Carolina Wrens I have seen and heard on the west section of the Riverwalk. For one thing North American Birds online states, "Individual male song repertoires range from 17 to 55 song types, averaging 32 songs/male." It goes on to note that males "will sing a song type an average of 15 times before switching to another song type, usually after a pause in singing." To complicate the situation it further notes, "In territorial maintenance singing, males repeat the same song type in bouts of 5–250 songs before switching to another song type." So this just may be a song I haven't heard sung yet. And I guess I haven't heard any one Carolina Wren sing a sufficient number of times (however many times that may) to hear any one bird change it's song.

I was able to visually locate the Carolina Wren this morning but it was about 150 feet away and 20 feet above the ground in a cottonwood tree when it was singing. I took this photo from about 125 feet so I cannot enlarge it more as it was taken handheld with my 12X digital. The bottom pic shows what the photo of the bird looks like before I cropped it.

I watched this bird for several minutes. When it finished singing its' song, it continued perching on the same branch for a few minutes before launching into its' next song (same song type). It did turn around on the branch, maybe looking for a female or competitor?).
SeEtta

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