blackbird – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Red-winged Blackbirds

By Mia McPherson|March 2nd, 2012|Categories: Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-winged Blackbirds|Tags: adult, Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, blackbirds, coastal, female, male, mangroves, nest building, nesting material, nesting season, Red-winged Blackbird, sky, water|

Red-winged Blackbirds are birds that I associate with spring, the males begin calling perched on top of reeds, cattails, grasses and shrubs and flash their brightly colored coverts to attract a mate.

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Taking a look back on a few previous Autumn Birds

By Mia McPherson|October 28th, 2011|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Northern Harriers, Pied-billed Grebes, Red-tailed Hawks, Red-winged Blackbirds, Ring-necked Pheasants, Tooele County, Utah, White-crowned Sparrows|Tags: Agelaius phoeniceus, autumn, birds of prey, blackbird, blackbirds, Buteo jamaicensis, Circus hudsonius, desert, Gray Ghost, grebe, grebes, harrier, harriers, hawk, hawks, Northern Harrier, Phasianus colchicus, pheasant, Pickleweed, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Ring-necked Pheasant, sparrow, sparrows, White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys|

Photographing birds during Autumn is a wonderful time for me in Utah, the beautiful fall colors delight and enthrall me, the air gets nippy and I find myself feeling a surge of energy whenever I am outdoors.

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Spring fever…

By Mia McPherson|March 27th, 2011|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Cliff Swallows, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah, Western Grebes, Yellow-rumped Warblers|Tags: Aechmophorus occidentalis, Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, blackbirds, Box Elder County, Cliff Swallow, Davis County, grebe, grebes, nature photography, nesting, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, Red-winged Blackbird, Setophaga coronata, spring fever, swallow, swallows, warbler, warblers, Western Grebe, Yellow-rumped Warbler|

Spring seduces me. Refreshes me. It whispers to me softly to come outside and savor nature and wildlife.

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Bye bye Blackbirds? The USDA is killing birds with DRC-1339

By Mia McPherson|January 30th, 2011|Categories: Birds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Davis County, European Starlings, Florida, Great-tailed Grackles, Pinellas County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Salt Lake County, Utah, Wildlife Ethics & Etiquette, Yellow-headed Blackbirds|Tags: Agelaius phoeniceus, Antelope Island State Park, avicide, blackbird, blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bye bye Blackbird, DRC-1339, Euphagus cyanocephalus, European Starling, Great-tailed Grackle, mass bird deaths, mass bird die off, Molothrus ater, poisoned, poisons, Red-winged Blackbird, Salt Lake County, Sturnus vulgaris, USDA, Wildlife Services, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus|

Recently the USDA accepted responsibility for a smaller die off in South Dakota which brought to light a little known program called "Bye bye Blackbird" which uses DRC-1339, a poison that is also called an avicide.

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