While acting as a spotter for Carol Boyer's 5th grade class at GHNWR on the
Sandpiper Trail, I was particularly pleased and nostalgic listening to the
myriads of Marsh Wrens that lay claim to territories along the road out to
the trail and then the trail itself.

This is where I became a birder; my dad took me out there before the
boardwalk, before it became a refuge in fact. I can remember how entranced I
was at the sound of the little, elusive wrens, and how delighted I was when
I finally saw it.
I was amazed that all that joyous sound should issue forth from that tiny
body!

So imagine my pleasure to hear one last year for the first time from my own
back yard here in Ocean Shores! One lot over from me, surrounded by dense
brush, is a drainage ditch and while I really dislike the mosquitos that
take over during the summer months, I'll slap on repellant and put up with
the "marsh" for the sake of those wrens.

Dianna Moore
Ocean Shores, Wa.
dlmoor2 at coastaccess.com