I know of nowhere that comes even close to Arcata Marsh in Arcata California for Marsh Wren photography (or just plain Marsh Wren enjoyment!). The Humbolt Bay weather for this year’s Godwitt Days Birding Festival has been very Humbolt Bayish…which is to say it has rained every day so far, and between rains the air is never completely free of a falling mist (worse case) or at least a visible fog. I have not seen any sunshine since I drove into Ukiah on the first night north of San Francisco on Tuesday. The trails at the marsh are wet at best, and outright muddy were you have to go to get the best wren show. Still. Totally worth it!

A word about Arcata Marsh. The marsh is an excellent example of a municipal wetland…a waste water treatment plant which has been turned into a exceptionally rich bird habitat by planting and managing the settlement ponds…and then opened to birders and other nature lovers by building a trail system. It sits right at the edge of Arcata, only moments from anywhere in town, nestled up against the Arcata Bay end of Humbolt Bay. There are some low hills with mature trees, lots of brushy areas, some open fields, tidal channels, reedy ponds, and easy access to the open waters of the bay. That covers a lot of habitats, and makes the marsh pretty much a one stop birding destination along the Northern California Coast.

Marsh Wrens are everywhere in the extensive cat-tail marshes, but it is along the narrow trail at the edge of one of the ponds, parallel to the old rail bed, that I have always had my best encounters. As you see from the scenic photo, the cat-tail margin is thin, and the trail runs right behind it, so you are close to the birds, and, when the males are establishing and defending territory, they are not bashful about climbing up on a reed and shouting their song within 20 feet of you. In several hundred yards of trail yesterday, there were 5 males singing at each other, and that was on a dull, dreary morning.

One of the thinks I love about Marsh Wren is their acrobatics. They are the pole dancers of bird-kind (not that I know anything at all about pole dancing…but I have heard rumors). The things they can do on a cat-tail reed are amazing (and amusing!).

All these shots of of a single male, doing his thing on territory. I came away with shots of all of the males (some of which you will undoubtedly see in the coming days). I even shot a little video.

Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation.  All at 1680mm equivalent (840mm optical zoom plus 2x digital tel-extender function). f5.8 @ 1/200-1/250th @ ISO 100.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.