I was on my way down Forest Street this morning to check on the tundra swan migration but I was temporalily distracted when numerous male red-winged blackbirds lined the roadside fence posts and were singing their sweet song as if it was their duty to somehow try and deter me from my chosen destination, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route.
Well, it worked, at least for a short while that is.
Honestly, the bird photographer in me spoke up and I just had to stop and take a few images of the male blackbirds puffing out their bright red scapulars while they sing to one another.
Yes, I am a bird nerd and admittedly a pushover for a red-winged blackbird singing during springtime.
Red-winged blackbirds sing each spring while atop cattail, reeds, and fence posts to establish their breeding territory and to attract a female blackbird as a suitable mate.
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If you watch them long enough, it is quite apparent the male red-winged blackbirds are singing against one another in a type of competition of sorts.
One male blackbird would sing and puff out its bright red scapulars and another nearby male red-winged blackbird soon responds and does the same.
Back and forth it goes until one of them flies off to another perch, starting it all over again somewhere else.
And the closer the male blackbirds are to one another, the more eagerly they seem to sing and the more they show their bright red wing feathers to one another as they vocalize.
It is quite interesting to note that during winter, the female red-winged blackbirds, well, just disappear.
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All winter long, either on the refuge or in adjoining grain fields, oftentimes in massive flocks, male red-winged blackbirds are quite easily seen but I have yet to find a female blackbird anywhere this time of year.
To be honest, I am not certain where the female blackbirds actually go this time of year.
Here in Utah, red-winged blackbirds don’t migrate.
In fact, for most of the United States, the red-winged blackbird is listed as a year-round resident, only migrating from the small portion of Montana and other more northern states as well as most of Canada.
But it is a mystery where the female blackbirds go during the winter since blackbirds in this part of the country are year-round residents, only moving around the area to find food during the winter.
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I have been hearing red-winged blackbirds sing for several weeks now at Farmington Bay, but this is the first time I consistently heard blackbirds sing on the refuge this year.
And as spring approaches, the blackbirds will sit and sing more and more, making for some great photography opportunities for anyone as interested in singing blackbirds as much as I am.
See, I told you I was a bird nerd.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with or haven’t visited the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yet, part of the bird watching takes place on Forest Street on the way down to the auto tour route.
All the blackbird images for this particular post were taken on the roadside fences just before the first small parking lot on Forest Street.
Red-winged blackbirds are also easily seen all over the refuge auto loop but this spot is one of the easiest places to get close to singing red-winged blackbirds as they prefer to perch on the fence posts on this stretch of road.
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I also have a small but growing YouTube channel where I post occasional video updates about the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge as well as short nature clips when I can capture them on film.
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