Hello tweeters.

Once again I'm asking for your help with a bird ID.

Last Monday, while walking the Stanley Park Seawall, in Vancouver, B.C. I
spied a "wrennish" looking bird, hopping about on the beached logs, right
next to the seawall. I only had one field guide with me, but the bird looked
closest to the House Wren. I'm not sure if a House Wren is likely to be here
at this time though. When I got home and checked out all of my guides, I
found that they all showed the House Wren as a "summer" resident only. I
don't know how long "summer" residents might hang around in Vancouver.

The bird was small, but not so tiny as I think a Winter Wren might be. I'm
not a very good judge of 4" or 5" of hopping bird. This little guy/gal had
an eyestripe, but not as distinct as a Bewick's Wren looks to have. The tail
was definately not the little stub of a Winter Wren but the colouring was
similar. All of the photos and drawings I looked at showed the Winter Wren
as round and pudgy. This bird was more round than slim looking. I got the
impression that there was some rusty colouring on the tail and and rump. At
first I thought it was some kind of dark sparrow, but then I noticed the
sticking up tail.

I watched the bird for about 5 minutes, but it was very active. Just as I
would get it in the binos, it would jump under a log or up onto a rock or
behind a rock......

So, to make a long story short, I think I saw a House Wren, but after
reading my guides, I have doubts about whether one would still be around at
this time of year. What do you think?

Thanks in advance for your always welcome advice.

Ingrid Lae
Vancouver, B.C.