Readers’ wildlife photos

March 6, 2014 • 5:25 am

The mating call of the garish red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)taken by Stephen Barnard. Males have the epaulets, which they display when looking for mates or defending territories, while females lack them. Stephen’s information:

700mm, ISO 2000, f/8, 1/3000, handheld. There are so many of these birds now—scores, after they’ve been absent all winter. They vibrate their wings when they call. That’s why the red-feathered display is blurry, even at 1/3000sec. Getting that sharp would require 1/8000 and better light.

RedwingedBB

Many of us have seen this New World bird, sitting perched atop twigs (or in this case cattails), displaying and singing its “trilling” song (listen to the variety of its songs here).

Its range, from the Cornell Ornithology site:

agel_phoe_AllAm_map

And fun blackbird facts:

  • Male Red-winged Blackbirds fiercely defend their territories during the breeding season, spending more than a quarter of daylight hours in territory defense. He chases other males out of the territory and attacks nest predators, sometimes going after much larger animals, including horses and people.
  • Red-winged Blackbirds roost in flocks in all months of the year. In summer small numbers roost in the wetlands where the birds breed. Winter flocks can be congregations of several million birds, including other blackbird species and starlings. Each morning the roosts spread out, traveling as far as 50 miles to feed, then re-forming at night.
  • The oldest recorded Red-winged Blackbird was 15 years 9 months old.

11 thoughts on “Readers’ wildlife photos”

  1. Beautiful, as always, Stephen! They’ve been absent from Idaho all winter because they’ve all been down here in Arizona.

  3. Splendidly captured photo. So inspiring to see so many readers contributing wildlife photos. I don’t have the lovely kit Diana has but might try a bit harder with my wee pocket Canon *hides head under hand*… The backyard is teeming with wildlife — beavers, otters, Great blue Heron, egrets, too many geese (really stinks while they’re here), ducks, deer, coyote, and of course endless birds. Have had Eastern bluebirds (two couples) for ten years now which is fantastic given their numbers were declining. Prior to that despite all efforts they didn’t come here until the barn collapsed which is where they now live albeit in bluebird houses. They don’t mind the six dogs but may have figured out the dogs don’t go to the barn (invisible fence).

    There are wetlands and drumlins on my property and an abundance of Red-winged blackbirds and they are truly delightful. Waking up between 3:00-4:00 every day allows me to be part of the magical world of birds. To be awake to hear the first chirp, the first song of any bird is better than coffee (did I actually say that?!) to start your day. It’s just us and the birds, the local ‘world’ hasn’t awoken yet.

    With our cold sun slowly changing to warm, filling the room with light I played the songs in the above link PCC listed. Really yearning for spring now. The cats were hilarious — came running over staring at the Bose radio the laptop is connected to. They couldn’t make out where the birds were 😉 Off to put in a birdsong CD and make another coffee.

    1. It sounds like you live in a very cool place. I only got seriously interested in wildlife photography when I moved to this ranch a couple of years ago. My other pastime is fly fishing. There are a number of similarities between fly fishing and photography. They both reward patience and close observation,require a degree of technical skill, and encourage the acquisition of expensive gear. 🙂

      1. A ranch with wildlife and fly-fishing nearby sounds idyllic. It’s great photography came so naturally and you’re able to capture the life around you. It’s amazing what animals can teach us without us realizing — how a bird moves it’s head, how an insect walks on a blade of grass…

        You describe fly fishing and photography so accurately. They are both elegant and majestic pastimes. I took several lessons in fly-fishing and loved it. Just casting alone is captivating. It was the cost of the gear that kept me from pursuing fly-fishing but I have a wish list.

        I meant to ask earlier, what photographic equipment do you use?

        I’m in a mish-mosh of an old farmhouse in pseudo-country with more hidden treasures yet to be found in land untouched. This property went through a ‘devastating’ change in the ecosystem due to beaver moving in. I dismantled a large dam, came home from work the next day, dam ‘returned’, twice as big. I got the message and immediately researched beavers. Didn’t have the heart to deal with them as was suggested by the town so I’ve watched the sad but natural and educational transformation. Still, it has it’s beauty. Forgot to mention the huge tortoises with shells ~2′ in length. And beautiful red fox although not particularly popular with the old-time locals 😉

        1. I use a Canon 5D3 and a 500mm f4 lens (often with a 1.4 extender) most of the time. I’m having some beaver issues, too, in my ponds. As long as they aren’t really messing things up I’m content to let them be.

  5. Nice pic!

    I’m looking forward to the red wings returning. I know Spring is near when they show up!

  6. Thanks Stephen! Wonderful shot! They are still a long way from coming to Minnesota I’m afraid! 🙁

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