One of Those Rarely Seen Little Ones: Marsh Wren at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

There are still a lot of common species out there that I haven't seen yet, sometimes because I am just not observant enough, but sometimes it's because the bird itself has an elusive lifestyle. The Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) falls into the latter category. They live most of their lives creeping among the reeds, rarely coming out into the open where they can be photographed.

I saw this Marsh Wren a couple of weeks ago at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, and had a heck of a time catching images. It hardly ever stopped moving, and hardly ever emerged from the reeds in the little marsh habitat outside of the brand new visitor center. I was on an elevated boardwalk above the marsh at the time. That was interesting, because I later read eBird's advice for seeing Marsh Wrens:

"Seeing a Marsh Wren in its often impenetrable marsh habitat can be tough, but these few tips might help. First, find a marsh with an elevated boardwalk. These provide more of a bird's-eye view of the cattails, allowing you to scan across more of the marsh and look down into it."

The Marsh Wren thus joins my list of not necessarily rare birds that are hard to see (the Sora comes to mind as another example). It is was a privilege to see one!