{"id":73144,"date":"2020-08-24T06:10:44","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T12:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=73144"},"modified":"2025-12-18T04:51:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T10:51:17","slug":"molting-house-wren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/08\/24\/molting-house-wren\/","title":{"rendered":"Molting Northern House Wren"},"content":{"rendered":"

About two weeks ago I photographed a molting Northern House Wren high in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> as it perched near a willow thicket.<\/p>\n

The wren looked messy because of tiny pin feathers showing on its head and ragged looking feathers on it throat, belly and chest.<\/p>\n

\"MoltingMolting Northern House Wren in the Wasatch Mountains \u2013 <\/em>Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

While I photographed the Northern House Wren I thought it might be a young bird but after looking closer at the images I took of it I believe that it is an adult with worn feathers after a busy breeding season.<\/p>\n

This wren’s legs are dark and they would be lighter colored in an immature bird and the gape isn’t fleshy like I would expect to see in a young bird hatched this year.<\/p>\n

\"MoltingMolting Northern House Wren perched in a fork of branches \u2013 <\/em>Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though the feathers of the Northern House Wren in these two photos are worn and tattered I’m glad I took photos of it.<\/p>\n

\"HouseHouse Wren nest in an aspen \u2013 <\/em>Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/250, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Northern House Wrens are cavity nesters and they often stuff the cavities full of twigs which can be rough on the feathers as they enter and exit the nest cavity.<\/p>\n

I photographed this nest in the Targhee National Forest in Clark County Idaho July of 2016. It shows just how full these wrens stuff twigs into the cavity.<\/p>\n

Only the female Northern House Wrens incubate and brood the young but after they hatch both parents enter and exit the nesting cavity to feed their young and to remove the fecal sacs the chicks produce. That has to be rough on their feathers. These wrens often have multiple broods in a nesting season which can make the damage to their feathers worse.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Northern House Wren perched in a serviceberry \u2013 <\/em>Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Northern House Wrens here in northern Utah do migrate in the fall and the adults molt before they migrate. The wrens need their feathers in good condition for their long journeys to their wintering grounds.<\/p>\n

I decided to share a photo of a Northern House Wren I photographed last June whose feathers are in good condition for comparison. This adult was photographed just a couple of hundred feet away from where the molting House Wren was photographed.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Northern House Wren photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About two weeks ago I photographed a molting Northern House Wren high in the Wasatch Mountains as it perched near a willow thicket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2578,2244,4594,2586,2261,26,773],"tags":[4004,1919,4897,3940,5182,5025,5370,2312,2313,4069,4075,9542,2587,4104,6725,4427,2585,9048,6107,5802,3822],"class_list":["post-73144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-clark-county","category-idaho","category-morgan-county","category-house-wrens","category-targhee-national-forest","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-aspen","tag-branch","tag-canyon","tag-cavity","tag-feathers","tag-forest","tag-molt","tag-molting","tag-mountains","tag-nest","tag-nest-cavity","tag-house-wren","tag-perched","tag-thicket","tag-tree","tag-troglodytes-aedon","tag-twigs","tag-willow","tag-wren","tag-wrens"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-molting-mia-mcpherson-1695.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-j1K","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105996,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/07\/low-light-house-wren-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":73144,"position":0},"title":"Low Light Northern House Wren In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"At the end of August I photographed this low light House Wren in a willow thicket high in the Wasatch Mountains next to an alpine creek.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Low light House Wren, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/house-wren-low-light-mia-mcpherson-9571.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/house-wren-low-light-mia-mcpherson-9571.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Uintas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago I spent time photographing nesting House Wrens in the high Uintas near Mirror Lake Highway, of interest to me is that two years ago I photographed Red-naped Sapsuckers using this same nesting cavity.","rel":"","context":"In "Nesting Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Nesting Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife-ethics\/nesting-birds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"House Wren with a yellow feather at its nest, Uinta Mountains, Uinta National Forest, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-feather-mia-mcpherson-3933.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-feather-mia-mcpherson-3933.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I probably took way too many images of the House Wren on the hummingbird's favorite perch but I feel like when a photographic opportunity presents itself I should take full advantage of it so that I don't have any regrets later on.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult House Wren singing in the Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-singing-mia-mcpherson-3616.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-singing-mia-mcpherson-3616.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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