Yesterday I noticed several small flocks of blackbirds swooping in and out of the cattails at my local marsh and suspect that they are migrating birds. The marshland park seems to be favorite stopping-off spot for all kinds of birds as they move south.
I managed to get his shot of one of a male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) in a rather typical pose on a cattail stalk. Unlike in the spring, when males seem to spend a lot of time calling out to potential, the blackbirds yesterday seemed to be much more focused on foraging for food.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Its beautiful. Where exactly did you find this beauty?
It was in the cattails of the local marsh in Virginia, the state in which I live.
Wow! I should think about visiting the place one day. You send in such picturesque photographs from there.
His wing patch seems more orange than the red ones I see here. Of course, this is coming from someone who’s color blind. In any case, it’s a great shot. They won’t sit still for me.
There is a lot of yellowish orange, but a little bit of red too. My experience is that there is a fair amount of color variance–some birds are darker than others and on some the color patch is more muted than on others.
Mike-first time visitor-I really like and enjoy your blog, especially your images of these beautiful birds.
Dave
Thanks, Dave. During the summer I tend to photograph a lot of insects, but I am not transitioning to shooting more birds.
What a fine shot you’ve made of this fellow. It must have been a very calm day. Whenever I try to catch one in a portrait shot, the cattails are bobbing around in wind gusts like reeds in a fast-flowing river. Great shot!
Thanks, Gary. it was a pretty calm day, though not entirely windless and a couple of my shots cut off part of the body of the blackbird when the wind picked up a little.
Just excellent, Mike!
Gorgegous capture, Mike! Your blackbird looks quite different from the ones we have over here.
What’s a common sight around here is migratory over there. Maybe that was one of ours.