Red-winged blackbird in flight
This blackbird’s flight from earlier this morning was an interesting one. He crouched low on the branch for a few seconds, longer than I was expecting, before it launched. When he did, there were a couple of quick wing beats before diving out of sight into the brambles.
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Around the edge with a red-winged blackbird
I took advantage of a Red-winged blackbird’s interest in me and photographed it among the reeds on the edge of the third of the Vermilion Lakes. There were several blackbirds calling one another and flying between perches. They would flit between the little islands of long grass on the lake, the trees hanging over the water and the bushes that filled in the shoreline.
This one came closer and stayed longer than the others which gave me a few good moments to photograph.
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Red-winged in spring
A Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) rests between calls in a bramble of willow catkins.
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Blackbirds and Bullrushes
Almost every marsh or pond in the Foothills with cattails or some form of brush on the water’s edge is attended by one or more mating pairs of Red-winged Blackbird now. They have returned from their winter south or west of Alberta over the past couple of weeks and are now setting up for the kids. I love the energy that is growing now that spring is truly underway (in May, I know…)
This fellow flew within a few dozen yards to check me out. He may have just thought that the tripod and long lens was overkill for his little pond but he hopped along the bullrushes nearby and then flew across the water to where I could see his mate was perched.
