Along the edge of one of the ponds at Arcata Marsh Nature Center there was a male Marsh Wren guarding territory and building a nest every 100 feet or so. We had a chance to compare three males working closely together. Nearest the corner of the pond was Macho Wren. He seemed to think that zipping rapidly back and forth across the corner of the pond, singing loudly (and not very musically), with his tail cooked up tight over his back in maximum excitement posture would win him a female, even though we never saw him actually do any work on a nest. Next down the shore was The Rookie. Clearly a first year male, this wren picked up the right materials and brought them to the nest site, but generally dropped them before getting them into the nest. He had read the instructions in his genetic code…but did not quite understand the point of them. Finally we had Home Depot Wren, utterly competent, filled with porpose, building not just a nest but a castle. He never dropped a thing. He was weaving a base of wet reeds and roots of cattail pulled up from below the water line. I suspect it will be waterproof when dry, and lining and thatching it will cattail down. The roof arched up several inches. Spacious accommodation for a growing family! And, on each trip out for materials, he took time to find a reed and sing his best song! Now that is my kind of Wren! I hope the females of his species recognize and reward his efforts. He deserves to pass on his genes.

I have to say…for me, there are few things in life more filled with quiet joy than an intimate view of a Wren building a nest.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. Shutter preferred. 1/800th @ f7.1 @ various ISOs to suit. Processed in Snapseed on my tablet. Assembled in Pixlar Express.