It seems my perhaps too obtuse invitation to read about the effects of
micro-climate in winter has taken an unintended tangent into whether
Marsh Wrens have become scarcer. There is no local evidence of decline
in 39 years of data from the Columbia Estuary CBC though numbers
fluctuate wildly from year to year, most probably as a result of weather
conditions and observer effort.
My blog post looks at the difference between counts on Saturday (cold
and icky) when I found no Marsh Wrens vs Sunday (warmer and more
pleasant) when I found many.
If you are one of the several folks who commented on the more general
dearth of Marsh Wrens in your local patch. It could be that your local
patch is, in fact, subject to some other change that is having real
impacts. It could also be that there could be some other factor
associated with the way you have come to your conclusion. Do you bird
alone or with others? Are you walking with you dog? Is you patch
becoming increasingly popular with other users (and their dogs)? Are
you reaching that age where you just don't hear things as well?
Quantify your experiences. Test your assumptions. Test my assumptions.
It's fun and remarkably easy.
On 12/23/2018 18:34, Mike Patterson wrote:
While many of you were out doing the hard work of stalking Inconguent
Egrets, I was trying to answer the question: Where have all the Marsh
Wrens gone?
http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/
