I'm not an avid enough birder to recognize every species at a glance. I have better luck identifying big birds (like herons, cranes, or ducks) or colorful birds (like orioles or scarlet tanagers) than with small brown birds. Fortunately, this House Wren (
Troglodytes aedon) had nested in a birdhouse above a friend's deck and it was shuttling back and forth with food for its babies. This brought it close enough to identify and because it followed the same path from bush to bush to tree made it possible to capture a picture.
These wrens migrate to the southern US during the winter and return to Michigan in April to breed. [Michigan Bird Atlas
pdf]. They prefer an edge
habitat with a mix of woods, brush, and open space. Suburbs and small towns often offer this kind of environment giving the House Wren its common name.
