Bewick's Wren, an early spring singer

Bewick's Wren, Jackson Bottom Wetlands, Hillsboro, Oregon on 4 March 2010 by Greg Gillson.

 

Throughout its range across North America, the Bewick's Wren (previous article) shows much plumage and song variation.

In addition, populations in Eastern North America are declining, while many populations in Western North America are expanding.

The 1979 book, The Birds of Canada by Earl Godfrey, shows Bewick's Wrens in extreme southern Ontario and extreme southwestern British Columbia. This species disappeared from Ontario in the 1970's and, in fact, retracted its range about 700 miles in the East. By the year 2000, according to the map in The National Geographic's Complete Birds of North America (2006) edited by Jonathan Alderfer, the wren perhaps now breeds no closer than southwestern Kentucky.

In contrast, the Bewick's Wrens in the Pacific Northwest are expanding their range inland along the Columbia River. Historically, they were common along the Columbia River only west of the Cascades, with a small isolated population near Yakima, Washington. In the last 30-40 years, though, they have expanded upriver until they are regular to the Walla Walla River and other areas surrounding the corner where Washington, Idaho, and Oregon meet.

The photo above shows a typical example of the population called the Seattle Wren (Thryomanes bewicki calophonus). This is the form found from SW BC, western Washington and Oregon (from Cascades to coast) south to Roseburg and Coos Bay, Oregon. [It is also likely the form expanding up the Columbia River to the east, but this has not been proved definitively.] It is browner and darker than most other forms in the West, slightly more reddish on the flanks and larger, with longer bill, tarsus, and middle toe.

The subspecies name, calophonus, means a beautiful singer. This bird does, indeed, have a variety of songs. Most take the form of Song Sparrow, with a few introductory chip notes and a trill. But there is much variation. These birds are one of the first singers of spring, singing away in March or, indeed, even the odd sunny day in mid-winter. They sing throughout the day, and throughout the remainder of the year to late fall.

For more information on this wren, including the calophonus subspecies of the Pacific Northwest, see the Bewick's Wren account in Bent's Life Histories of North American Birds.

In the backyard... Bewick's Wren

Bewick's Wren, Hayward, Washington Co., Oregon on 16 May 2008 by Greg Gillson.

 

During those rare sunny Northwest mornings in March one can hear the cheerful clear whistled notes and trills of the Bewick's Wren emanating from the roadside blackberry tangles. This can give residents (false) hope that winter may actually end in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Along with the Song Sparrow, Brown Creeper, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, this wren is one of the first birds to start singing their spring breeding song.

While the Eastern populations of this spunky wren are declining, the range of the populations in the Pacific Northwest is expanding. It is quite common west of the Cascades from southwestern British Columbia to northern California. From northern California it is found eastward to Missouri and south well into Mexico. Additional populations occur east into the Appalachians. Though generally absent from the Great Basin, birds follow the Columbia River eastward through the Cascade range into the Columbia River Basin and tributaries in Oregon and Washington (Seattle Audubon BirdWeb), and the Snake River to Idaho (IdahoBirds.Net).

Bewick's Wren is a small bird with a long curved bill. It has a long, floppy, barred tail often held up high at right angles to its reddish-brown back. Most noticeable is the white eyebrow stripe. This bird differs from the buffy-chested Carolina Wren in the East by Bewick's grayish-white chest. The upper parts of Bewick's Wrens tend to be redder in the East, grayer in the Southwest, and darker rufous-brown in the Northwest (as in the photo above).

The habitat of this wren is brushy tangles in woodlots and over-grown backyards, chaparral-oak communities in northern California, brushy stream edges, and clearcuts in lower elevation forests. Bewick's Wrens nest in natural cavities and woodpecker holes, and will readily use nest boxes placed lower than 7 feet from the ground. They eat insects they glean by crawling through brushy tangles. They will come to your bird feeder if it is not too far out in the open... and if you offer suet.