Fluffed up male Brewer's BlackbirdFluffed up male Brewer’s Blackbird – Nikon D810, f10, 1/800, ISO 320, -1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Last night I spent some time looking through images I had taken last February to make mental notes of what I had seen then to figure out what I might see this month in the various locations I go to find and photograph birds. I came across several images of this male Brewer’s Blackbird I had photographed last February and I realized I haven’t seen them since last fall. Brewer’s Blackbirds are year round residents in Utah but I just don’t see much of them in the winter.

This Brewer’s Blackbird male was with several other males on some weathered wooden pallets next to the road when he shook and fluffed up his feathers. I like that I can see the blue, green and purple iridescence in his dark plumage, they are much more than just “plain black birds” when you look close enough. The setting might not be very natural looking because of the slats of the pallet but I am okay with it, the blackbird certainly was.

I was only able to take a few images of the Brewer’s Blackbirds that day because a nearby Prairie Falcon spooked them and they took off.

Predicted weather 12 through 19 February 2017

Predicted weather 12 through 19 February 2017

It looks like there might be some sunshine the next few days, it has been a long, long time since I have seen this much sunshine in a weather forecast! I am excited about it and hope that I can find some birds to photograph while the weather conditions are favorable and the chance for good light is better than it has been for the last few weeks (months actually).

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Brewer’s Blackbird photos plus facts and information about this species.