A small flock of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) was active in the cattails at Huntley Meadows Park on Monday morning. I was happy to be able to capture some action shots of one of the females, which, as you can readily see, are not black and don’t have red wings.
It was a real treat for me to be able to get some shots of the female blackbirds at the top of the cattails. Most of the time, the females peck about at the base of the cattails and only the male blackbirds are visible at the tops. For whatever reason, the majority of the members of this small flock appeared to be females.
I didn’t think that this female blackbird was aware of my presence as she diligently searched for insects, but the stare that I captured in the final photo seemed to be conveying a message that she did not want me there. I backed off and left a short time later.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great captures, Mike!
Thanks, Robyn
Particularly beautiful series, Mike. The last two are great fun… caught in the action!
Thanks, Chris. The “posed” shots are a bit easier to get, but it is much more of a challenge to try to catch the action and particularly rewarding when one of those shots actually turns out pretty well.
Nice shots! I’m surprised the males didn’t harass you. They don’t seem to have any fear.
It was a little strange that the males that I saw were not even calling out loudly as they usually do. All the blackbirds seemed focused on finding something to ear, it seemed.