{"id":90824,"date":"2021-06-24T06:01:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T12:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=90824"},"modified":"2026-05-09T11:45:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:45:42","slug":"adult-house-wren-with-a-large-feather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/24\/adult-house-wren-with-a-large-feather\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult Northern House Wren With A Large Feather"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult Northern House Wren bringing a feather to the nest \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

After taking photos of Cliff Swallows gathering nesting materials<\/span><\/a> two days ago I took more Northern House Wren photos of the nesting pair I found in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a>. I observed the pair of Northern House Wrens bringing nesting materials into the nest that is inside of a rusty metal pipe.<\/p>\n

The wrens and the swallows both seem to be nesting later in the season than in previous years but we did have a cool spring here in northern Utah which may have delayed their nesting attempts and possibly their migration. I can’t be certain what caused both species to nest later in the season.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the time I spent with the Northern House Wrens one of the wrens flew in with a rather large feather in their bill.<\/p>\n

\"NestingNesting Northern House Wren with a large feather \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Birds of the World<\/span><\/a> states that “After pairing, the female largely takes over nest-building, first finishing the stick platform and nest cup, then lining the cup with soft material.” so this wren may be the female of the pair but I wouldn’t bet the farm on that. There still much to be learned about our feathered friends.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Northern House Wren with a feather for the nest \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Northern House Wren stood on the top of the rusty metal pipe for a few seconds with the large feather moving slightly in the morning breeze. I’m certain the feather will make a nice lining for their nest and perhaps provide some warmth for their nestlings when they hatch.<\/p>\n

\"HouseNorthern House Wren with a large feather \u2013 Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This last photo doesn’t have great eye contact and the wren’s wings are a blurry mess but since I laughed when I viewed the photo on my monitor I decided to share it here. It looked to me as if the wren was struggling with the weight of the feather though I sincerely doubt that is the case. The wren was simply moving closer to the nest entrance when I clicked the shutter button.<\/p>\n

Observing and photographing the Northern House Wrens has been great fun and there will be more photos of this pair to come.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/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":"

After taking photos of Cliff Swallows gathering nesting materials two days ago I took more Northern House Wren photos of the nesting pair I found in the Wasatch Mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,2586,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,3940,4608,11914,4069,4075,9963,4182,4450,2587,5668,2315,2585],"class_list":["post-90824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-house-wrens","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-canyon","tag-feather","tag-metal-pipe","tag-mountains","tag-nest","tag-nest-entrance","tag-nesting-material","tag-nesting-season","tag-house-wren","tag-rusty","tag-summer-3","tag-troglodytes-aedon"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-adult-nesting-feather-mia-mcpherson-6744.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-nCU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90669,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/22\/nesting-house-wren-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":90824,"position":0},"title":"Nesting Northern House Wren Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Had it not been for my keen eyesight and a little bit of movement in a serviceberry shrub I would have missed out on taking nesting Northern House Wren photos yesterday.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern House Wren nesting in a rusty pipe, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-adult-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7476.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-adult-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-7476.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife-ethics\/nesting-birds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern 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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-feather-mia-mcpherson-3933.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-feather-mia-mcpherson-3933.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-aspen-nest-cavity-mia-mcpherson-3859.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-aspen-nest-cavity-mia-mcpherson-3859.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-aspen-nest-cavity-mia-mcpherson-3859.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-aspen-nest-cavity-mia-mcpherson-3859.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":91707,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/07\/06\/house-wren-and-a-rusty-pipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":90824,"position":3},"title":"Northern House Wren And A Rusty Pipe","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this adult Northern House Wren last week while I was up in the Wasatch Mountains looking for birds and cooling off in higher elevation temperatures.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Northern House Wren perched on a rusty pipe, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/house-wren-adult-on-rusty-pipe-mia-mcpherson-7683-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/house-wren-adult-on-rusty-pipe-mia-mcpherson-7683-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/house-wren-adult-on-rusty-pipe-mia-mcpherson-7683-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 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birds I know I need to find them which means focusing my attention on the sights and sounds around me whenever I am out in the field which has worked extremely well for me.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern House Wren peeking out of its nest, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-1981.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-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-1981.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/house-wren-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-1981.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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