Winter Wren - Millcreek Canyon

[Colby Neuman]

I'd like to respond to Jim's understandable concerns...

Back to last evening…I was running along the Desolation Trail when I heard a 
bird singing a high pitched musical song up the hill.  Because I wasn't 
really paying attention, I initially thought I had an Ovenbird doing its 
flight song.  So I stopped and about five seconds later the bird sang 
again…that's when I realized that it was JUST a Winter Wren.

As for distinguishing Winter Wren and House Wren by song...it's actually 
quite easy.  House Wrens typically sing a bubbly song that crescendos before 
dropping off at the end.  Going off the top of my head, the individual song 
itself is usually no more than 5-7 seconds long.  However, a Winter Wren 
usually gives a series of high pitched twinkles and twitters that can go on 
for up to 20-30 seconds.  The bird last night was probably singing for 10-15 
seconds at a time before pausing.

Jim wrote:
>A Winter Wren would be highly unlikely in that locale this time of year.
>
>Jim

I probably would have said the same thing five years ago.  However, I’m 
going to disagree with Jim here.  I know the older field guides (like 
National Geographic and Petersons) showed Winter Wren summering as far south 
as the mountains around Stanley, ID.  I don’t have Sibley on me right now, 
but his maps are horrible so it wouldn’t surprise me that he showed the same 
pattern.  Here are some summer sightings that I can remember to the south of 
central Idaho…

A couple of years ago I found a Winter Wren singing along Bailey Creek 
outside of Soda Springs, ID in July.  I emailed Chuck Trost asking him about 
the significance of the sighting.  He was delighted to report that he had 
seen one a week or so before in a different part of the Wasatch Range in 
southeastern Idaho.  I also remember (or at least I think do) sightings in 
previous years from Farmington Canyon and a canyon outside of Logan in Utah. 
  Maybe others can comment on these sightings.  As for one Utah sighting 
that I do remember, Merrill Webb had one singing in July last year in 
American Fork Canyon.  I don’t know if breeding has ever been confirmed, but 
these sightings seem to indicate Winter Wrens almost certainly breed in the 
Wasatch Range in Utah.  The questions we should ask are how frequently and 
to what extent???

Colby



>From: Jim Bailey <jim at bailey.aros.net>
>To: slbnet at utahbirds.org
>Subject: Re: [slbnet] Winter Wren - Millcreek Canyon
>Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 10:57:16 -0600 (MDT)
>
>I am speculating that you heard a House Wren. Their songs are similar. A
>Winter Wren would be highly unlikely in that locale this time of year.
>
>Jim
>
> > While running up to the Salt Lake Overlook (Desolation Trail) in
> > Millcreek Canyon this evening, I heard a Winter Wren singing in a ravine
> > about a half a mile down from the overlook.  This is approximately 1.5
> > miles from the trailhead.
> >
> > Colby
>
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