Tuesday, 8 December 2015

[cobirds] Presence of Marsh Wrens in Colorado in winter

COBirders,

  Last month there was a brief discussion on COBirds triggered by Hugh Kingery about a singing Marsh Wren in Douglas County.  Others chimed in wondering about breeding and migratory habits of this species.  Dave Silverman (in Rye, Pueblo County) and I exchanged some emails on the topic which I will try to summarize.  After some research Dave found that while Marsh Wrens regularly breed in the northern Colorado, in southern Colorado they do not except in the San Luis Valley.  Pueblo County had no reports of breeding Marsh Wrens in the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas I and only one in the CBBA II.  Dave says, “In the Pueblo area & the Greenhorn Valley in particular, Marsh Wrens have regularly wintered as long as I can remember.”  He goes on to write, “They prefer to breed in cattails rather than reeds, but winter in a greater variety of habitats. Why they are […] common [breeders] in the SLV & not in other southern CO areas has often puzzled experts. An interesting project would be summer surveys of cattail marshes in SE CO for possible Marsh Wrens.”

Leon Bright, Pueblo

 

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