Changes At Farmington Bay WMA And Glover Pond
Every year when I make my first trip to Farmington Bay WMA in the fall I dread the changes that inevitably happen.
Every year when I make my first trip to Farmington Bay WMA in the fall I dread the changes that inevitably happen.
On Monday while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge one of the first birds I photographed was a male Yellow-headed Blackbird resting on a rock.
What I liked about this photo was that I caught the female Red-winged Blackbird with her bill open while she was munching on a midge.
I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and came home with some spring Yellow-headed Blackbird photos I am happy with.
I drove to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning where I heard male Red-winged Blackbirds singing in the marsh.
Finding two uncommon birds this week at the same olive tree really has me buzzed and to finally see a Rusty Blackbird has made me feel like jumping over the moon.
In the right light Brewer's Blackbird males are very colorful because their feathers glow with blue, green, and purple iridescence.
I look at this seasonal change as a personal challenge to grow, to adapt and to meet my bird photography goals. I'm looking forward to the challenges and changes ahead.
Three days ago one of the birds that the Song Sparrows chased off was an adult female Brown-headed Cowbird that landed on a serviceberry in front of me.
I took this photo of an adult male Red-winged Blackbird taking off this morning with the distant snow covered Promontory Mountains in the background.
Two days ago there were plenty of male Red-winged Blackbirds singing and putting on displays in the marshy areas of Farmington Bay WMA.
I photographed this young male Red-winged Blackbird singing at the top of a Russian olive tree at Farmington Bay WMA nine days ago.
Yesterday morning I was able to take close up images of a male Brewer's Blackbird in the kind of light that showed all of its beautiful iridescent colors with the silky blue water of a pond in the background.
Autumn is a time when the seeds of many plants that the Red-winged Blackbirds feed upon have ripened and the birds are taking full advantage of the season's bounty and spend a large part of their days foraging.
I wanted to share a five image series of a male Yellow-headed Blackbird that I photographed in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge this morning that I took the second week of May.
The fore and background of this image may be messy or cluttered looking but I love the way this photo shows the female Yellow-headed Blackbird in the habitat I find them in at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
It has been nearly a year since I posted any photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and since I took photos of a cooperative, sticky male yesterday I thought I should rectify that situation and share two photos here this morning.
Two days ago I had a male Brewer's Blackbird in my viewfinder near Glover Pond in Davis County, I photographed him as he perched on a fence post with fall colors in the background.
So it wasn't a great morning but it wasn't all that bad either because I was able to focus on a Short-eared Owl, Brewer's Blackbirds and one curious Long-tailed Weasel.
A male Brewer's Blackbird had been preening on a fence post when he started to shake his feathers and that action sure showed his iridescent plumage off nicely.
The Brewer's Blackbird seemed to be really throwing himself into his bath as he splashed around, dipping his head into the water then shaking his entire body as his head rose above the water.
Yellow-head Blackbirds made their presence known at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago by displaying and because of their odd mechanical calls that sound like a rusty metal gate opening and closing.
In Florida I most often photographed Red-winged Blackbirds at north beach of Fort De Soto County Park where I could reliably find them in the sand dunes, sea oats, spartina and mangroves all year long.
Within the flock of blackbirds there was a female Brewer's Blackbird that drew my attention to her because she had light colored eyes and stood out from the other females that were nearby.
Many species of birds on Antelope Island State Park are pigging out on wild sunflower seeds at this time of the year including Red-winged Blackbirds.
I always have fun photographing Brewer's Blackbirds even though they are a challenge to expose properly, it is precisely that challenge that keeps me on my toes.
The plumage of male juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds is highly variable during their first year, some of the young blackbirds can look like females and some can look more like adult males.
Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic .
Even though it is late May there are still male Red-winged Blackbirds displaying and singing their little hearts out here in northern Utah and that is what this male blackbird was doing.
I was surprised yesterday to be able to take portraits of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds because they normally fly away from me instead of flying towards me.