3 Kinds of Blackbirds Baked in a Pie

Nah, not really. I suspect that pie would be gross. Anyhow, while out exploring the west Phoenix farmland I came across a little area where three of the five North American Blackbirds were living it up in the evening light. I really enjoy seeing family/groups all together (that doesn't just go for birds). Alas, there was no Rusty Blackbird around, and the Tri-Coloreds never seem to stray from the California coast. Even so, three Blackbirds is a good number of Blackbirds, especially when they're so pretty.

Here, listen to the Beatle's Blackbird song too. It seems only appropriate.

First up was the Red-Winged Blackbird, harbinger of spring and soon-to-be relentless loud-mouth of riparian lands all across America. This stud was calling from some marshy plants near a dairy farm where one can also find lots of Yellow-Headed Blackbirds.

The Yellow-Headed BBs can be consistently found at the farm, but their exact location is contingent on which section of cows are being fed. Unfortunately, this schedule often places them on the wrong side of the sun in the evening. Oh, the injustices with which we must put up as birders...

There were also some small flocks of Brewer's Blackbirds in the area. I really like these birds, but they're unlucky in having such attractive cousins. Though beautiful in their own right, they're the relatively ugly ones of the bunch.

The male Blackbirds all have stunning visual appeal, but it was this rather drab female, eager for some attention too, who gave me the best view. I really like the symmetrical feather detail that came out in her portrait. Durable, warm, beautiful...though they look as thin as tissue paper, these feathers will carry the Blackbird hundreds and hundreds of miles.

Here, just to round things off, is the Rusty Blackbird seen in Anthem (N. Phoenix) autumn of 2011.

Only one more Blackbird to go. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try for the Tri-Colored soon.

Nemesis No More!

Finally, after some years of working and waiting and searching and swearing (not too badly), I have seen the Yellow-Headed Blackbird. This bird was a true nemesis for Pops, and its elusiveness grew to bother me more and more as well. Always taunting were the descriptions in the bird books, "locally common." Wherever their locales were, we could not find them. I finally struck gold, so to speak, at the Tres Rios Overflow Wetlands in west Phoenix. The lush and buggy swampland there was too much for even the most aloof Blackbirds to ignore, and I saw several dozen of these beautiful hooded squawkers through a thick chain-link fence. They had finally let their guard down, gotten careless, and given me a sighting. It was fantastic, but not fully satisfying either. Having to view beautiful birds through fences ...it's not really the right birding ethos, even if they were wild.

Fortunately, I hit the real jackpot on the drive home. I had arrived at Tres Rios in the afternoon. While driving back through the odiferous dairy farms, a spectacle of startling proportions prompted me to pull over:

As they are known to do, these Blackbirds were congregating around the dairy farms and adjacent land en masse. I had checked these farms before, but it must've been the wrong time of year. With little regard for the dim lighting, smelly surroundings, or private property of the farms, I exited my vehicle and began romping around after the massive Blackbird flocks as they bounced from field to field.

Trying to keep up with the flying birds, especially with limited sunlight, was a lost cause. There were plenty of the birds hanging around the cattle though, happy to pick through the bovine left-overs and jostle for places along the fence.

Phew! It was great to make up for lost time. I will definitely have to go back and make up for lost light too. I watched them graze with their cud-chewing chums for a little while. Some of the birds would stop their foraging and offer up a little song of thanks for their bountiful slop. At least, I'm assuming that's what they were doing, because I couldn't spot a single female in this macho throng (granted, that's easier said than done).

A yellow hood, black body, and a white shoulder patch makes this one of the easiest identifications. I'm not sure what it was they were eating with the cows. It appears to be brown sugar. It's probably brown sugar.

I felt a little bit like Indigo Montoya from The Princess Bride: "I've been in the revenge business so long...now that it's over, I do not know what to do with the rest of my life." Unlike Montoya, I would not make a good Dread Pirate Roberts. In fact, I get motion sick just from reading in the car. Even though I found this nemesis, I shall continue to be a birder...for now.

Red-Winged Blackbird

Noisy and noticeable, this spring essential converges on riparian areas in massive flocks and fills the air with its metallic call. They can be beautiful at times, and also annoying, but they're always impressive.

Brewer's Blackbird

These blackbirds share the same dynamic with their blackbird and grackle cousins: the males have a lovely iridescent coloration of sheeny blues, purples, and blacks, while the females are content with a homely brown. 
They have yellow eyes like a grackle, but this is diagnostic among blackbirds.
Also photographed is a rather zombified female with her chick, which looks like death himself (thus explaining her condition). Looking at this, one can easily see why these blackbirds prefer to have other birds raise their young.