In the past few weeks with the arrival of colder weather, I have spotted one or two Winter Wrens in the forest understory of Inwood Hill Park. The migrating wrens will sometimes be seen near Carolina Wrens, a regular bird of the forest, as they share similar behaviors.
Every birdwatcher in the park has come to know the reddish-brown and vocal Carolina Wren, a frenetic little bird more easily heard than seen. Its fast pace makes the wren challenging to photograph. In addition, House Wrens visit the Salt Marsh in the spring and summer.
I have not encountered Winter Wrens before, but this doesn’t mean that they haven’t been here. Still, they may be venturing into new terrain. In shape, they look like the Carolina Wrens, with the flicking upright tale gesture and similar markings, but they are dull in color with a light brownish tint.
On the afternoon of Saturday, December 9, 2023, I had a good look at a Winter Wren in the understory of the Clove. It was all by itself, exploring the tops and interiors of a tangle of fallen bark and green shoots. The Winter Wren is often described as mouselike in its scampering movements.
Making sketches of the two wrens has helped me sort out the differences between the Carolina Wren and the Winter Wren. I typically make these little paintings on watercolor postcard paper, often 4 x 6 inches, a size just enough to contain the real sizes of these small round wrens. The Carolina Wren is the larger of the two.
Both wrens hold their tail up. They both sport alternating light and dark bars on their wings with dots of bright white. The eyebrow stripe on the Carolina Wren is longer than the Winter Wren’s. I had a good time making the jaunty eyebrow marks on both of these bird paintings.
When painting birds, I tend to make the underlying drawings in water-soluble graphite and then apply watercolor washes to fill out the color. For details, I will use colored pencils and ink to emphasize the darkest markings and the eyes. I make those lighter markings often with white gouache, a chalky medium in the painter’s toolkit. I’ll use my photographs as references and a point of departure, but I still strive to represent the personalities of these birds in the tradition of academic fine arts drawing.
Painting these birds is one way to overcome the frustration that these active little birds will hardly ever sit still for a camera. Studying birds through art and photography keeps the elusive movement present and alive for a little while longer, before it always and inevitably flies away.
Cover: Winter Wren in the Clove. December 9, 2023.
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December 2023 Sightings
See the Sightings page for December 2023 for additional images. During this month, I have seen an abundance of woodpeckers and Red-tailed Hawks.
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