Marsh Wren

It’s been difficult lately to find balance in my life. Work has taken over most of my waking hours and thoughts, and after I do chores on the weekend, there’s little time left for reflection, let alone nature. Or blogging. The terrible news of the Aurora, Colorado theater shootings and realizing that one of those dead was a blogger on WordPress didn’t make me feel much better. Jessica Ghawi, a/k/a Jessica Redfield, had narrowly escaped a shooter in Toronto of all places last month and she wrote about savoring every day as it could be your last.

So even though I was up too late last night roasting veggies for the week’s meals, I made myself get up this morning at 5:30 a.m. so I could go over to McGinnis Slough and see what had transpired after three weeks of more drought and then one soaking rain.

McGinnis Marsh

The marsh growth has flourished with the drought, and it seems the Marsh Wrens have filled it up to capacity. The very first call I heard when I got out of my car was a Marsh Wren. By the time I had my gear together and made my first stop at the little overlook near the parking lot, Marsh Wrens were chattering and flitting about in the reeds. And then they came out to visit. There is no way I would have been able to stand there and photograph them at that close distance without their safety-in-numbers equation.

The rest of my McGinnis visit will follow in a subsequent post. The heron and egret numbers were phenomenal.