Winter Wren, Wood Thrush, and stream. 6am, 9 May 2006, Shindagin Hollow near Brooktondale, New York. © Lang Elliott.
My favorite wren is without doubt the Winter Wren. It’s rambling, silvery song delights the ear and is quite unlike the song of any other wren. Yesterday, when I recorded the Wood Thrush in Shindagin Hollow with Beth Bannister, we reminisced about our experience ten years prior recording a Winter Wren, also in early May and almost at the same location. That recording is featured above, and there is a funny story that goes along with it.
When we heard the wren singing, I got very excited (as usual) and rushed off in front of Beth, half-running through the dense understory in the wren’s direction. To my delight, I soon located him, singing from the top of a balsam fir tree next to a small brook. I quickly decided that my best recording position was right in the middle of the water, but as I scurried toward the stream, I tripped on a root and fell face forward on to the muddy ground (I must admit this happens to me fairly often). The wren was unfazed … he kept right on singing throughout my ordeal, although he was probably wren-chuckling under his breath.
I righted myself and in short measure I was standing in the stream, blissfully recording the wren, along with the stream and two Wood Thrushes that had suddenly joined the chorus (one close and one distant). The mix sounded great through my headphones and I was absolutely thrilled to document what I considered to be a uniquely interesting sound event.
When I finished recording, Beth approached, gazing at my muddy clothing. Before she had a chance to say anything, I told her what had happened, unaware she had seen me take the fall:
The Winter Wren’s song cannot be fully appreciated without slowing it down. There is such a rapid delivery of notes (usually over a hundred) that we humans simply can’t hear all the intricacy. So here is an example of the song slowed down … you’ll hear a song at normal speed, followed by a slowed and pitch-lowered version, followed by the song once again at normal speed:
Well, what’ya think of that? Quite a stunning and delicate performance for such an unassuming little brown wren, don’t you think?
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I’m so enjoying the sounds of nature. Your hobby has brought me great joy.
not exactly my hobby … it’s what I do to make a living.
Wow, thank you for providing the slowed down version. It really is impressive!
I first heard a Winter Wren 2 summers ago on a mountain in Massachusetts and had no idea what it was. The one I encountered was also hanging out by a mellow stream. This slowed down version is amazing. What a song!
Chris: they are often found at high elevations, especially up in the spruce-fir zone. I remember finding them up by Clingman’s Dome in the Smoky Mountains National Park.
Just amazing!
This and the last recording are so good I am building a SASS boundary microphone system in my workshop for my omnis. I am cutting and bandsawing glued up blocks of foam to keep the weight down and will stretch some lycra cut from an old pair of long johns over the top to buffer wind. But I do not plan to become a competitor with your store–all just for the sake of my own fun and experimentation. I like the way your technique brings the soloist to the foreground with the avian choristers arrayed in the sonic background. The… Read more »
That’s great Norm. Once you get it built, I look forward to hearing some of your recordings. Capturing nature soundscapes is lots of fun, though full of frustrations as well.
have been listening to your recordings so much the last few days, i felt it was time to make a donation. it really is such a wonderful thing to get these posts from you–thank you for all that you put into this and share with us.
You’re welcome Billie!
Oh the slowed-down version….it brought tears to my eyes. So beautiful.
Thank you so much for this and all of your recordings and posts Lang. It’s true–the song of a wren lifts my spirits and fills my heart with hope.
Wren songs certainly lift my spirits … and that applies to all the different species … Winter, House, Carolina, Bewick’s, Marsh, Sedge, Canyon, Cactus and Rock.
Really nice to hear it all slowed down. Beautiful!
Hearing the song slowed (and pitch-lowered) brings it into the range of human musical sensibilities, allowing us to appreciate the song pattern even more.
My favorite little songster.
My favorite wren, also. Such a small bird makes such a big sound. I remember the first time I saw one . I had stepped out of a quiet ice cave and was bowled over by his sound. He was very close and very curious, and he blasted away. Sung his little wren heart for me.
Stepped out of an ice cave? Now I’m curious. Where were you?
New Paltz, NY
There’s ice caves in or around New Paltz? Natural ones?
Shawangunk Mountains
Yes. There are two big ones. One is owned by The Nature Conservancy.
Not a climber. Just an explorer.
Me too, but I have a friend who regularly heads to the gunks to climb. I’ve been there only once, years ago, just day-hiking.
You a climber?
Song is similar to a wee reddish house wren that has come to my garden to sing three years in a row. Always perches on the same spot. He digs around my hanging planters and starts a nest in my bird house but always leaves and never finishes. Love the veery in the background.
Jules: House Wrens also have a bubbly song, but certainly of a different ilk. I heard my first one of the season just a few days ago.
This is the sweetest most delicate sound that could be coming from my little Fairy House 🙂
Peace & Blessings to you dear Lang for sharing this treasure.
Rose: you live in a Fairy House?
No Lang, I don’t live in a Fairy House. . . I have one in my backyard! My grandchildren love it & they keep waiting for a tiny fairy to appear 🙂
They also like to keep an eye on my bird house because right now there are 2 chickadees that have taken up residence in that darling little house.
oh darn … i thought you might live there with the birds.
WREN. I remember it from Poland. It always takes me back to my childhood. It was then when I discovered the beauty of sound and music, back before I learned anything at schools. Wren will always be one of my favorite bird songs. It is the very heart of my sound appreciation ever! Tinkling the fibers of life and happiness! Mr. Lang, thank you for giving it. It moves me profoundly.
Artur … I am very moved by what you say …. wrensong “tinkling the fibers of life and happiness.” I really like that. Ornithologists have recently split the Winter Wren complex into three species. Here in North America, we now have the Winter Wren (eastern species) and the Pacific Wren (western species). And over your way it’s now the Eurasian Wren. Even so, lots of experts still refer to all of them as Winter Wrens and I’m pretty certain your wren sounds very much like those in my backyard. As a graduate student at the University of Maryland, I studied… Read more »
i love your phrase “tinkling the fibers of life and happiness”. just perfect.
I think the mosts amazing thing I learned about this bird from Ted Mack was that it sings its song on the exhale AND the inhale. What a beautiful heartfelt important song!
SHhhh, don’t tell–winter wren is *not* a bird, he is a fairy sprite, hence his purely magical music. Surely you knew …
Finally, someone brave enough to tell the truth …
Thanks for sharing this recording and your story!
ah, i did not realize what that was! i have heard the song before and was amazed at the incredible delicate beauty of it. one day i spotted the singer and thought it was my usual house wren, and that he must just have a song in addition to his usual raucous call. I did not realize it was a different type of wren, so thanks for the enlightenment. And how wonderful to have an extended version of this beautiful song that i’ve only heard tiny snatches of before.
You’re welcome Billie!
Amazing little song bird. Slowing the song down sounded like a human whistling. Interesting.
But I’ve never met anyone who could whistle that fast!
Wrens are among my favorite little birds. Their song and demeanor is nothing short of sweet…♥
Watching one sing is pure joy. They put so much of themselves into it!
another bird that i love to watch is the bob white. they tilt their heads up and lean into it and let the sound just kind of tip out, with that lingering pause between the “bob” and “white”. their whole little being is in those two sounds.
Wish we had them around here. I’d love to videotape the Bobwhite’s performance.
Brings me back to the Chimneys in the Smokies. Singing constantly. Awesome!
Oh, you have so many fine Smoky Mountains Rembrances, don’t you Dick?
Hot stuff, my friend! The winter wren’s a favorite bird of mine, too. We’re just back from Australia. Winter wrens singing in our Adirondack woods welcomed us home.
Wonderful bird with a wonderful song. We only have them in a few places (as you no doubt know). Shindagin Hollow almost always has a pair or two. I’ve heard one this year so far, but he keeps moving around, preventing me from getting a soundscape portrait.