Posts Tagged ‘Red-Winged Blackbird’

There are plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds down by Woodbine Park right now. The males are the easiest to spot as they are calling out their territory, but it is usually harder to spot the females as they are better camouflaged. Here are some pics of the ones I was able to see.

I particularly like this shot, which was taken using my new (to me) Olympus E-620 using my 200mm f/2.6 telephoto lens, as there is extra detail captured using this camera’s 12.3 megapixels as opposed to the 10 megapixels in my old E-510. I like how you can make out the touch of “gold” on her shoulder, and the slightly darker patch of feathers just above her beak and eye.

Female Red-winged Blackbird

A few minutes later I saw another female who had just come out of a bath and was drying herself off. So here’s a pic of slightly soggy female red-winged blackbird.

Female Red-Winged Blackbird After a Bath

This male red-winged blackbird was on the ground, looking for something to eat. He spotted me and gave a squawk before heading back to look for more food.

Male Red-winged Blackbird Squawking

I didn’t get much of an opportunity to shoot pics of birds while I was over in the U.K., so it was good to go for a walk in Woodbine Park with the dog to see the birds that have returned (or in a couple of cases, likely never left).

Here are a couple of shots of a male Red-winged Blackbird who was gathering thistle seeds and squawking away.

Male Red-winged Blackbird Squawking

When he noticed me, he directed his squawks at me:

Male Red-winged Blackbird Squawking at Me

One of a pair of Mourning Doves I ran across:

Mourning Dove

Here’s a pic of one of a couple of Robins I saw in Woodbine Park. Am pretty sure at least three American Robins stuck it out for the whole of the (non-)winter we had.

An American Robin

The Mute Swans are back in Woodbine Park’s pond. They didn’t like Yo-Bob much, which accounts for the steely gaze in this shot:

Mute Swan

A Blackbird (or possibly a Grackle?) taking flight from the top of a small tree:

Blackbird Taking Flight

A glorious sunny day, so I took the dog for a long walk down by Woodbine Beach park. Here are some pics taken along the way.

A team practicing in a big ol’ canoe down by Woodbine Beach Park.

An unhappy female Red-Winged Blackbird telling me to go away from her nesting site in no uncertain terms.

An immature mallard drake checking me out. (Sorry, no bread).

After lunch, the girls, YoBob and I headed down to Woodbine Park. I took the ball chucker in order to wear-out YoBob, and the girls played in the playground. The fountain had also been turned back on, and the water-level of the pond has risen considerably, making it attractive for people and for the local birdlife.

The fountains at Woodbine Park

Close-up of the smaller “sub” fountains by the base of the big fountain

Shot of an accommodating female Mallard duck who was swimming with her drake

This female Red-Winged Blackbird alighted on an adjacent bench, and allowed me to take a couple of quick pics before she flew off

The trilliums (trillia?) in our front garden have finally bloomed. Here’s a close-up of one of them using the macro lens.

Being squawked at by a red-winged blackbird down at Woodbine Park. Unfortunately the bird is not in as sharp a focus as I would have liked, but the expressions is great.

It’s warm enough now that our dog Yo-Bob can go fetch balls thrown into the pond by Woodbine Park. I bought a throwing-stick for dog-balls today and we got him good and tired having him chase the ball all over the park.

Labels: red-winged blackbird, trillium, woodbine park, Yo-Bob

YoBob happily fetching a stick from the pond.

Another male-red winged blackbird claiming territory at Woodbine Park.

The girls playing around with the water fountain.

Labels: Annie. Vanessa, red-winged blackbird, woodbine park, Yo-Bob

Still sick with a cold, but the dog still needs his walk, and I need to take my “Picture of the Day”. So we went down to Woodbine Park, where we heard the loud squawkings of Red-winged blackbirds claiming territory for themselves and picking the fluff out of the bullrushes in order to line their nests.

A nice shot of a male red-winged blackbird among the bullrushes. Love the telephoto lens — what you see here is maybe 15% or so of the original size of the shot.

A relatively dowdy-looking female red-winged blackbird. She didn’t like me one bit and kept sending a warning squawk to her mate, who only moved when he felt the dog was getting too close.

Another male red-winged blackbird, this one basically claiming that the tree he is in is his.

Labels: red-winged blackbird, woodbine park