red-winged blackbirds

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus subsp. phoeniceus) Species sexually dimorphic. West of Sanger, Denton County, Texas, USA. Disturbed Cross Timbers and Prairies vegetational area. Fallow field at ca. 210 m (690 ft) elevation.

And finally for that area: Two Red-winged Blackbirds. I was hoping to see quail in there - Gambel's or Scaled or Montezuma - any of which would have been a lifer. But no such luck.

Click on my dropbox link to see what the movement looks like (see if you can find the raptor flying into them): https://www.dropbox.com/s/vvlt21p9rool140/Blackbirdsville.mp4?dl=0

In this photo see if you can distinguish a Common Grackle from a Eurpoean Starling. Click on my dropbox link to see what the movement looks like (see if you can find the raptor flying into them): https://www.dropbox.com/s/vvlt21p9rool140/Blackbirdsville.mp4?dl=0

On one small field not far from my house one million birds are staging their southern migration. Click on my dropbox link to see what the movement looks like (see if you can find the raptor flying into them): https://www.dropbox.com/s/vvlt21p9rool140/Blackbirdsville.mp4?dl=0

This species always (here) means spring is coming soon. They should be appearing in these parts in three or so weeks. These males always put on a great show. In 35 years of wildlife photography, making pictures of everything from moose to bears, the male Red-winged Blackbird is the only animal...

The females and males were still in separate flocks when I was there, but the males were starting to sing and by now the females have probably found them.

Every fall from late October to late November hundreds of thousands if not a million grackles, Red-winged Black Birds, European Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds gather at the end of every day along the Hudson River. This is a morning shot of just the Red-wings headed south very early. Check...

They cleared out my feeders in one go! No joke.

The males arrive first and then the females a few weeks later. The males arrived a couple of weeks ago and the females are starting to come in now. The males have been busily staking out territory.

Red-winged Blackbirds, South of Tyler, TX

Some old stuff