Marsh Wren

Marsh Wren aka. Long-billed Marsh Wren

Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, California, USA
April 2021
Member of the Wren Family
§A Herd of Wrens§

~True Bird Fact~ The male Marsh Wren is a busy bird, making 'dummy nests' during breeding season to create a diversion for potential predators while the female broods in the real one. Often a dozen or more of these nests are made, but never used for eggs. Lest you think he's a good dad, he also goes around and destroys the eggs and kills the young of other birds in the marsh, both other species and his own. Red flag city over here.

-I would say, with an amateur level of psychoanalysis, that this bird does what he does out of extremely anxious feelings and insecurity

-Has a collection of baseball hats

-Might be a cop

Cactus Wren

Cactus Wren
Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
November 2017
Member of the Wren Family
§A Chime of Wrens§
★State Bird of Arizona★

Favorite Cactus: Saguaro

~Loves to build nests in cacti, using their naturally spiky nature to defend their roosts. They build tons of them, way more than most birds. Some of these appear to be decoy nests, meant to distract predators. Others they just sleep in. Some males might use them to start secret second or third families. Shady behavior to be sure- it's not wonder they've got such a contentious relationship with Curve-billed Thrashers, who they often share the neighborhood with.

Gets into all sorts of trouble with the law
Sensitive to spicy foods, even though you'd expect her to be into them
Always spoiling for a fight

Rock Wren

Rock Wren
Death Valley, California, USA
February 2014
Member of the Wren Family
§A Flight of Wrens§

~true bird fact~ A Bird truly adapted to the desert lifestyle (and to California's deadly drought) the Rock Wren doesn't drink any water at all. He gets all the moisture he needs from his diet, which is mainly bugs and spiders. Makes me thirsty just thinking about it.

A lonesome fella
Sympathizes with the down-n-outs//drifter class (prisoners, the homeless, etc)
Out of date in his ideas and preferences. Doesn't reckon he'd like the city much, e.g.
Does what he can to help his fellow man



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Amateurnitholog (author's notes)
I know I've been promising birds from the recent Florida trip, but for some reason today I felt like taking care of some unfinished business from another trip from a little more than a year ago. This bird was photographed on a big road trip I took all around California with two of my dearest friends who were both on their way out of the state at the time. It's a sign of progress for me when I can identify a bird now fairly easily that used to be a stumper for me. At some point in the last year, for example, I figured out that that tail is a real Wren indicator. From there it wasn't too hard to figure out Rock Wren (based on, i.e. season and landscape he appeared in). Like on every bird, I do hope I didn't get this one wrong. Regardless, it certainly felt like a less helpless, flailing process than the last time I tried to figure out what this guy was, and that's progress.

Bewick's Wren

Bewick's Wren
Redding, California, USA
November 2014
Member of the Wren Family
§A Chime of Wrens§

~true bird fact~ He might look innocent, but don't let that fool you. This Bewick's Wren is engaged in a high stakes game of deadly nest espionage with his hated rival, the House Wren. Bewick's Wrens have all but disappeared from the Eastern United States, and it's thought that the expansion of the House Wren population is to blame. House Wren's frequently sneak the Bewick's Wren's eggs out of the nest and take it over themselves. In response, these birds often build 'dummy nests' as a misdirect, peck holes in other bird's eggs, and "defend nesting territory with singing" (a direct quote from the Audubon.org field guide, which leaves the way this is accomplished up to the reader's imagination).

Paranoid and jumpy (is it paranoia if they're really out to get you?)
Considers family traditions very important
Seeks closer bond with humans than most birds. Acts cute to get attention
Rambles



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wikipedia.org

Thomas Bewick
1753-1828
This bird was named after Thomas Bewick, by his friend James Audubon. Bewick was an engraver first, but eventually found acclaim as a naturalist and author. He illustrated children's books, engraved silverware, and did engravings for advertisements. He became well known for his illustrations of various versions of Aesop's Fables and a book called A History of Quadrupeds. He was a big proponent of wood engraving as a medium, and pioneered new techniques and tools to make it higher quality and less expensive. His most famous work was A History of British Birds, which he co-wrote and illustrated. A man after your amateurnithologist's own heart, he was credited with adding humanity and humor to his illustrations and books, adding unrelated illustrated vignettes to his nature books.

wikipedia.org

Amateurmycologist: A New Direction

Hello bird blog fans. We have some big news. Amateurnithologist is changing. Since the runaway success of our recent Flappy Bird blog post, we've had a lot of interest from larger blogs, and we've made the decision to sell. Specifically, we're going to be switching our focus from birds to fungi and lichen. I know what you're thinking, but hear me out- Mushroomblog.com is a great content provider and I'm proud to become part of that family of services (and it's A LOT of money). I think you'll learn to enjoy our new content just as much, if not more. We're still coming to you on the same domain name for now, but soon we'll be switching over to Amateurmycologist.blogspot.com. Today's update is a little bit of a preview for you guys. As a special treat you're getting THREE fungi profiles. Enjoy!

Red Cructose Rock Lichen
Point Reyes, California, USA
~true lichen fact~ This lichen is hard to remove without damaging the substrate or lichen! How tenacious!

Follows sports closely
Traditional values
Very upset about having to change to digital television

&

Yellow Fructicose Rock Lichen
Point Reyes, California, USA

~true lichen fact~ While these guys have a fungal layer outside, there's a algal layer within! What on earth is going on?!

A free-spirited artist
Owns a lot of pets
Goes barefoot whenever possible

Honey Mushroom (Armillaria Mellea) 

Muir Woods, California, USA

Member of the Armillaria Family

Edibility: Edible and pretty good to eat. Some people get an upset stomach.

Probability that this mushroom is correctly identified: 60%

~true mushroom fact~ Members of this family make up some of the largest and oldest living things in the world. The largest single organism of this species is 3.4 square miles and thousands of years old. Some Armillarias are bio-luminescent and are thought to be responsible for mysterious phenomena like wil-o-th-wisps and foxfire.

A strong voice for organization in the forest

Calls you an affectionate nickname

Has a bit of an ego

Ok, so that's that, hope you enjoyed our new focus... Wait?! What's that? I think there's a bird in that picture of mushrooms.. Well... might as well profile him while I'm here. You know, for old time's sake. What's the worst that could happen?

Pacific Wren
Muir Woods, California, USA
Member of the Wren Family
§A Herd of Wrens§

~true bird fact~ During winter, groups of these wrens of up to 30 will nest together for warmth. Mega cute, you guys. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that the Pacific Wren is a very recently 'discovered' bird, only being successfully identified as a species distinct from the Winter Wren in 2010! Even scientists are still learning things, which is very inspirational.

A good communicator
Sleepy
Has a great connection to her neighborhood

Update! It looks like fungiworld has revoked my contract after seeing that I wrote about a bird again. Also a bunch of people died cause they ate that mushroom. Oh well, looks like we're back to the grind here on birdblog. Happy April everyone.