{"id":88353,"date":"2021-05-20T05:26:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T11:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=88353"},"modified":"2023-03-31T15:45:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T21:45:16","slug":"singing-rock-wren-in-the-west-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/20\/singing-rock-wren-in-the-west-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"Singing Rock Wren In The West Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Rock Wren singing from a juniper \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday when I spotted a Rock Wren singing from the top of a juniper in Utah’s West Desert I hoped to take a few decent photos of it before it flew away. I see and hear Rock Wrens quite often in desert habitat but they are usually too far away to get high quality images of them. I was excited to have this wren singing<\/span><\/a>, close and in my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Wren perched on top of a juniper \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m used to seeing Rock Wrens on rocks and cliff faces not perched on the top of a juniper so I took a long, long series of it singing and looking around. The sky was clear and the wren stood out from it well. At the time I thought the wren would fly from the top of the tree and that would be all of the images of it that I would get. The wren had other plans though.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rock Wren in Utah’s West Desert \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Rock Wren left the top of the juniper it flew to the ground and landed on a rock next to the road where it foraged and sang intermittently. The wren was illuminated nicely by the soft morning light.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rock Wren perched on a rock \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was happy to take photo after photo of this little songster moving around on the rock and to observe its behavior through my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"BackBack view of an adult Rock Wren \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m including this back view of the Rock Wren for those who are interested in bird identification because at least superficially it looks similar to a House Wren from behind.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Wren perched on a clod of dirt \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

But a profile view like this one shows the speckled grayish upperparts, the whitish throat and breast with fine gray streaks and the buffy flanks that are key identification features for this species.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe tail end of a Rock Wren \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This view shows the light and dark marks on the undertail coverts that is also another identification feature for this species. To be completely frank though I can identify this species with just its song.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Wren adult perched in front of rocks \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Rock Wren flew over to different rocks near the side of the road I was more than happy to take photos of it there. I liked the contrast of bright rocks and dark shadows in this frame.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rock Wren singing in the West Desert \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

And this image too where the Rock Wren started to sing again. I do wish that the wren were looking a little more towards me in this photo but this is a bird not a high paid model and birds do what they want to do.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Wren and its shadow \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I wanted to include this photo because when the wren moved to another rock I liked how its shadow fell on the clump of dirt behind it.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Wren singing at the base of a juniper \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Rock Wren foraged it stopped often to sing. Here it is in on a clump of dirt left by a recent grading of the road.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Rock Wren on a boulder \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the wren finally perched for a few seconds on a large boulder that I had hoped it would land on that was in front of a juniper. I liked the contrast of the light and shadows in this image.<\/p>\n

\"RockRock Wren singing on a juniper \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally the Rock Wren flew up to the top of another juniper to sing its song again. I took another long series of images of the wren singing on the tree and watched it take off and fly away.<\/p>\n

I was thoroughly enchanted by this small Rock Wren as I photographed it. I saw and photographed more birds yesterday but in my mind this Rock Wren was the<\/em> highlight of my morning in the West Desert.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Yesterday when I spotted a Rock Wren singing from the top of a juniper in Utah’s West Desert I hoped to take a few decent photos of it before it flew away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111880,"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":[27,6857,358,26,1314],"tags":[4004,5180,9809,4098,9808,8296,7017,3747,4109,3914,4674,2691,4104,4921,2436,4470,6858,4179,10452,165,6285,4055,30,2690,4088,5802,3822],"class_list":["post-88353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-rock-wrens","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","tag-adult","tag-back-view","tag-clod","tag-desert","tag-dirt","tag-end","tag-foothills","tag-grass","tag-grasses","tag-juniper","tag-junipers","tag-juniperus-osteosperma","tag-perched","tag-rock","tag-rock-wren","tag-rocks","tag-salpinctes-obsoletus","tag-singing-2","tag-sky-island-mountains","tag-spring","tag-tail","tag-tooele-county","tag-utah-2","tag-utah-juniper","tag-west-desert","tag-wren","tag-wrens"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rock-wren-adult-desert-mia-mcpherson-9358.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-mZ3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":89429,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/30\/west-desert-rock-wren-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":88353,"position":0},"title":"West Desert Rock Wren Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I have been able to take more Rock Wren photos in the West Desert the last two times I have wandered out there.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rock Wren singing on a gnarly old fence post, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rock-wren-adult-singing-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rock-wren-adult-singing-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rock-wren-adult-singing-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rock-wren-adult-singing-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-0954.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":89541,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/31\/recent-birds-ive-found-in-the-west-desert\/","url_meta":{"origin":88353,"position":1},"title":"Recent Birds I’ve Found In The West Desert","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 31, 2021","format":"chat","excerpt":"Last week I made two trips out to the West Desert and today I am sharing a medley of recent birds that I found while I was out there.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Red-tailed Hawk basking in the warmth of the morning sun, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-basking-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2040.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-basking-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2040.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-basking-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2040.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-basking-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-2040.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101517,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/11\/springtime-rock-wren-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":88353,"position":2},"title":"Springtime Rock Wren Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Any time I have a Rock Wren in my viewfinder is a good day for me. Yesterday was an especially good day because I had two nesting adult Rock Wrens to focus on.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Rock Wren staring at me, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/rock-wren-adult-desert-mia-mcpherson-6271.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/rock-wren-adult-desert-mia-mcpherson-6271.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/rock-wren-adult-desert-mia-mcpherson-6271.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/rock-wren-adult-desert-mia-mcpherson-6271.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57549,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/01\/nesting-house-wrens-and-a-closed-gate\/","url_meta":{"origin":88353,"position":3},"title":"Nesting House Wrens And A Closed Gate","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I tried to get up into a canyon in the Stansbury Mountains yesterday but was met with a closed gate so I turned my Jeep around and decided that I would explore a different canyon.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"House Wren in a natural nesting cavity, Stansbury Mountains, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-natural-cavity-mia-mcpherson-6881.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-natural-cavity-mia-mcpherson-6881.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-natural-cavity-mia-mcpherson-6881.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-natural-cavity-mia-mcpherson-6881.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":99714,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/07\/winter-rock-wren-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":88353,"position":4},"title":"Winter Rock Wren Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I found and pointed out a bunch of birds in northern Utah. 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