Singing Marsh Wren

[Bruce Enns]

I found this very cooperative little fellow with the huge voice at the Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary in Victoria BC last week. He was busy setting up his nest and establishing his territory in the Typha at the edge of the lake. The bits of 'hair' on his beak and elsewhere are actually the fiber from the old Typha flowers from the previous year, which is used extensively in the building of the nest. I watched him collecting this material in between visiting his several singing stations and managed a number of very close shots. I've never come across this species at such close range before. It was a real treat.

This is a composite of a singing bird perched on a Typha flower stalk, placed on a slightly cleaner background than the original shot.

Canon 50D, Canon 100-400 L IS USM at 400mm, ISO 400, 1/320s, f/5.6, handheld

Comments and critiques are very welcome and appreciated as always.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!
Bruce

[David Thomasson]

Excellent pose and great timing! He seems to be throwing his little caboose into his music. :p

[Ramon M. Casares]

Superb pose, very powerfull and full of atitude! Love it. Also great soft light, nice perch, lovely BG,comp and stunning detail! Congratulations!

[Doug Brown]

Congrats on your close encounter; they are always lots of fun. I love the singing pose and the raised tail feathers are a real plus. I'd be tempted to darken the BG just a little to help emphasize the bird. Overall you did a good job with the composite, but I can see some work in the rump region.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I would just give it a touch more room top and bottom, and possibly raise the colour temp a bit too. Classic singing pose for this species, I like it alot. Glad you kept the "fibres" there as it helps tell the nestbuilding story. Good job on the composite, with just a little refinement to do near the rump area as mentioned by Doug.

[Maxis Gamez]

Extremely funny pose and very nice BG. The tail is priceless!

[Dan Brown]

Cool capture!:eek: I love the BG but I am not a big fan of the big empty space on the left which I would crop a bit but that's just me:)

[Stu Bowie]

Super pose with the upright tail. I like the light and details, and well timed to capture the open beak. Maybe a bit of contrast would help.

[Arthur Morris]

I am fine with the COMP as presented. Agree with all the positives above. Looks as if it could use a bit more contrast.

[Bruce Enns]

Thank-you everyone for your helpful remarks and comments. A will bump up the contrast a bit as suggested...

Thanks again for taking the time to look and comment.

Cheers!
Bruce