Marsh Wren in Lake County
2017-10-29

Uncommon in Lake County in the Fall season

Rare along the North Shore of Lake Superior at any season (especially in Lake and Cook counties), this Marsh Wren in Two Harbors was also exceptionally late for northern Minnesota. I'm aware of only 3 north records beyond the 29th of October: 31-Oct-1994 (St. Louis County, J. Green), 31-Oct-1999 (Cook County, K. Eckert), and 02-Nov-1996 (St. Louis County, J. Green). Discovered by Bob Dunlap in a wet strip of cattails near Agate Bay, it was seen and/or heard calling by at least a dozen birders. Though very difficult to separate by plumage alone, this bird appears to be the expected "Eastern Marsh Wren" (Cistothorus palustris [palustris Group]) based on its brighter reddish-brown scapulars and flanks, darker crown, obvious white supercilium, blackish / more distinct eyestripe, and speckled neck-sides; these and other subtle differences are illustrated and discussed in The Sibley Guide to Birds.

Peder H. Svingen