I can imagine a hungry Winter Wren heading north to its breeding grounds looking down and seeing the damp shaded areas at Todmorden and considering it as a perfect spot to rest and find food.
I have done over 100 June Breeding Bird Surveys in Northern Ontario and the Winter Wren is one of our most common singers.
Here is a splendid video of their singing:
Sibley Birds gives a perfect description of their behaviour: – climbs over fallen logs and overturned stumps, or in brush piles, working in and out of crevices and through tangles of branches.
I was able to get a photo of today’s wren after much searching:
Some Todmorden botany:
NATURE QUOTE
from Macbeth:
– for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. – Shakespeare
Miles Hearn
The song of the winter wren is familiar . I’ve heard this tune many times around our cottage but never identified the bird. Thanks for the photos.
Another favorite place! And what a terrific picture you got of that Winter Wren! Thank you so much for including a Wren singing. Almost like being there! And again, such wonderful close-ups of botanical details. Thanks, Miles!
On behalf of all the Todmorden stewards, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you didn’t find any buckthorn there – or if you did, that you didn’t post any photos
I second that.
My brother is working hard in Puslinch to get rid of that awful buckthorn. He uses a horse to pull the plant out of the ground.