Photo of the Week: Juvenile Red-Winged Blackbird

A streaky dark brown bird with pale eyebrow and orange/buff spot on the shoulder perches on the gray-weathered wood of the boardwalk, muted cattail reeds and a blurry male Red-winged Blackbird with bright red epaulet on its shoulder in the background.

When it comes to birding and bird identification, I seem to learn something new every day. It’s one of the things I enjoy most about birding, and it keeps me humble.

I saw this beautiful bird at Kensington Metropark, perched on the boardwalk railing as I was searching for the elusive Virgina Rail in the mass of cattails.

Continue reading Photo of the Week: Juvenile Red-Winged Blackbird

Photo of the Week: Early Morning Riser, Red-winged Blackbird

Black bird with red and yellow epaulets sings loudly as it perches on the bare tree branch.

The sounds of Red-winged Blackbirds filled the marsh in the early morning at Sterling State Park in Monroe, Michigan for the first official weekend of spring in Michigan. Along with blackbirds, you could hear the territorial song of American Robins and the loud calls and squeals of Ring-billed Gulls as they foraged for food in… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Early Morning Riser, Red-winged Blackbird