Yellow-headed Blackbird male about to grab a midge from the air, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, UtahYellow-headed Blackbird male about to grab a midge from the air – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

This Yellow-headed Blackbird and a midge image was taken this past Monday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah. The midges have hatched and are flying around near the auto tour route. I’ve written about the importance of midges before in a post titled  Midges and Birds – Food for Thought.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) can perch on cattails, reeds, rushes, or mounds of vegetation and snatch midges right out of the air. Capturing it with my camera was a treat on Monday, that is a midge to the right of the blackbird’s bill.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to view more of my Yellow-headed Blackbird photos plus facts and information about this species.