In spite of the still glorious autumnal color, winter has arrived at Ivy Creek. Last week there was a winter wren hanging out with the song and swamp sparrows in the sycamore/willow growth on the silt bars off the peninsula trail. Actually the name, “winter wren”, has a lower-48 bias since the species is a “summer” wren in the northern boreal forest of North America. Indeed, its distribution is circumpolar. While there are numerous species of wrens in the western hemisphere, in the eastern hemisphere the winter wren is the only wren species. It is the “Jenny Wren” of English literature, and it is a permanent resident father south than the boreal forest, occurring throughout the year south to North Africa and Asia Minor.
