Marsh Wren

The clouds reflecting off an open pool in the marsh.
As long as I have a compass, or some other reference point, I love to plunge into marsh vegetation. The cattails and Phragmites at this site were well over 12 feet in places.

Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris
I was helping to monitor a wetland mitigation bank in Gary, Indiana last week. Besides being in Gary and surrounded by vast swaths of invasive plants, I love to see the flora and fauna. Sandhill Cranes were passing overhead. A Harrier was cruising over the wetlands and prairie. A Red-tailed Hawk circled on thermals. An American Kestrel hunted from a perch on a telephone wire. I flushed multiple Soras as I moved through the vegetation. Many White-throated and Savannah Sparrows fed on the grass seeds. As I approached a stand of Cattails later in the afternoon, I noticed a little bird watching me from the thicket. I could tell that it was a wren. He responded with high curiosity to my pishing, allowing me to get pretty close. Eventually, he melted back into the Cattails and sang for me his musical trill, letting me know that it definitely was a Marsh Wren.