Portraits of a Red-winged Blackbird

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Portraits of a Red-winged Blackbird

March 8, 2015 by Mike Powell

There were only a few Red-winged Blackbirds at my local marsh yesterday morning, but the loud volume of their calling made up for the smallness of their numbers. The morning light was quite beautiful, which makes these images look almost like they were shot in a studio. It sure helps when you have a cooperative subject, like this male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), who enjoys being in the spotlight.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Alexandria VA, blackbird, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Red-winged Blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 17 Comments

17 Responses

on March 8, 2015 at 5:46 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

Great shots of hard to shoot bird. Black is not easy.
- on March 8, 2015 at 9:01 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Victor. I was shooting subjects in the snow so I had my exposure compensation set to overexpose by about a stop, which worked out almost perfectly for the blackbird, and I don’t really care that the details of the cattail are blown out.
on March 8, 2015 at 8:06 am | Reply mvschulze

Beautiful, Mike. M 🙂
on March 8, 2015 at 8:06 am | Reply Gill McGrath

beautiful
on March 8, 2015 at 9:31 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

Nice shots. I can’t wait to hear them here.
- on March 8, 2015 at 12:12 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Allen. They were at the marsh early in the day. but by noon they were gone (or had moved to another area of the park).
on March 8, 2015 at 1:31 pm | Reply waltersanford

By every statistical measure, your blog is far more successful than mine, Mike. So who am I to offer advice? But hey, when did that ever stop me? You know what I always say: Lead with your best shot. IMO, Photo 3 should be Photo 1. I’m just saying.
- on March 8, 2015 at 2:02 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for weighing in, Walter, but I am not sure that I agree that Photo #3 is the best shot. Sure, it’s an action shot, shows better the colorful wing patch, and has an artistic composition, but I like the cocked head, crooked smile, and the catch light in the eye in the first shot. Which one is better? I like them both fro different reasons.
on March 8, 2015 at 2:03 pm | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Gorgeous shots. I’ve never seen one of these birds.
on March 8, 2015 at 7:26 pm | Reply Ginny48

Hi Mike! You have given me much to be hopeful about on this cold and windy day in northern NY. My friend and I have a contest every year to see who spots the first Red-winged Blackbird. It’s all in good fun and something we look forward to. Today, he challenged me even further by asking me to find out how far north they are right now. Winter has been brutal this year and little games like this keep us going :). I think you might have answered that question, so I thank you!! In the grand scheme of things, your part of VA near Washington DC is only a few hundred miles away. So I can tell my friend that spring really IS coming even if it’s hard to believe with the hip high snow pack and mountainous banks on the roadsides. Before long we WILL hear that wonderful first sign of spring – the song of the Red-winged Blackbird. Thank you, Mike. You have brightened my day!
- on March 8, 2015 at 7:54 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  That’s great to hear. I really like Red-winged Blackbirds, though at times their calls can be really loud and a bit obnoxious.
on March 8, 2015 at 7:33 pm | Reply Ginny48

Mike – One more thing – I was wondering if you might want to take part in the Rusty Blackbird Blitz. Here is a link to the info: http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/ Your Huntley Meadows Park was listed as a birding hotspot for the Rusty Blackbird so I thought you might enjoy participating. If not, that’s fine, too. I know how busy life can get :).
- on March 8, 2015 at 7:53 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Let me check this out, Ginny. Last year I did see some Rusty Blackbirds at Huntley Meadows, although none during the period of the blitz. I am at the marsh several days a week and may be able to help.
  - on March 8, 2015 at 8:10 pm Ginny48
    
    Thanks, Mike! That would be wonderful. It’s sad that they are in such decline and that the reason is unknown. Every pair of eyes and ears helps :).
  - on March 8, 2015 at 8:16 pm Mike Powell
    
    I case you are curious, here are shots I’ve taken of Rusty Blackbirds https://michaelqpowell.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/female-rusty-blackbird/ and https://michaelqpowell.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/rusty-blackbird/
on March 9, 2015 at 8:53 pm | Reply krikitarts

The last one does it for me–but he looks like he needs to choose a larger-caliber perch!
on March 10, 2015 at 8:28 am | Reply Sue

I’ll weigh in on the “best photo” discussion you and Walter are having here. I vote for #1 as well, simply because from the artistic standpoint the light is fantastic, and the quirky head cocking makes it an interesting posture to look at. That said, Walter is right about action shots being inherently more captivating to the casual viewer. By the way, do you use Lightroom to process photos, Mike? It is so much easier than PS, and enables you to really highlight (or tone down) individual features in an image to bring out the best contrast.