{"id":100179,"date":"2022-02-24T05:46:35","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T12:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=100179"},"modified":"2022-02-24T05:57:29","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T12:57:29","slug":"singing-male-red-winged-blackbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/24\/singing-male-red-winged-blackbird\/","title":{"rendered":"Singing Male Red-winged Blackbird And A Birthday Wish"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SingingSinging male Red-winged Blackbird at Bear River MBR \u2013 Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/250, ISO 250, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I photographed this singing male Red-winged Blackbird earlier this month while enjoying the marshes and wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a>. Perched on the top of a phrag the blackbird sang with such exuberance that I felt I had to stop. Listen to him. Photograph him. Relish seeing him.<\/p>\n

Red-winged Blackbirds are year round residents where I live in northern Utah. It would have been easy to pass on by this bird because these blackbirds are so abundant. Obviously I didn’t. I couldn’t drive by when he was singing. His song was a reminder to me that spring is on the way. In my mind thoughts of warmer temps, longer days and spring migration were woven into the fabric of his song.<\/p>\n

Speaking of singing…<\/h2>\n

Today is the birthday of my youngest son, Chris. When Chris was very young he sang a lot. He made up songs and sang while he played. He even sang as he drifted off to sleep. I could nearly always tell where he was because of his songs. He sang inside and outside. As Chris grew older he sang songs I knew well. In his bedroom. Out in the garden. Anywhere the mood struck him. When I didn’t hear him singing or humming a tune that was when I would check on him to make sure that he was okay. It was always a joy to hear Chris singing.<\/p>\n

Chris is grown up now with a family of his own. It may be Chris’s birthday but on this day I received one of the best gifts ever. Him.<\/p>\n

Happy Birthday, sweetheart, I love you. Keep singing. I wish you joy and happiness. I also wish I were close enough to bake you a Red Velvet cake.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Red-winged Blackbird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I photographed this singing male Red-winged Blackbird earlier this month while enjoying the marshes and wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,419,26],"tags":[4004,4151,3813,3483,779,4060,4062,4094,4104,4059,6428,4324,4179,4095,373],"class_list":["post-100179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-red-winged-blackbirds","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-agelaius-phoeniceus","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-displaying","tag-icterids","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-perched","tag-phragmites","tag-phrags","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-singing-2","tag-wetlands","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-winged-blackbird-male-singing-mia-mcpherson-7320.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-q3N","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":110715,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/04\/singing-red-winged-blackbird-male\/","url_meta":{"origin":100179,"position":0},"title":"Singing Red-winged Blackbird Male","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"After my long and photo heavy Tundra Swan post yesterday I am keeping my post today simple. I'm sharing a single photo of a singing Red-winged Blackbird male.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singing male Red-winged Blackbird on the bank of the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-adult-singing-mia-mcpherson-5359.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-adult-singing-mia-mcpherson-5359.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/red-winged-blackbird-saltcedar-mia-mcpherson-6081.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/red-winged-blackbird-saltcedar-mia-mcpherson-6081.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/red-winged-blackbird-saltcedar-mia-mcpherson-6081.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/red-winged-blackbird-saltcedar-mia-mcpherson-6081.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101194,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/28\/male-red-winged-blackbird-singing-on-a-sign\/","url_meta":{"origin":100179,"position":3},"title":"Male Red-winged Blackbird Singing On A Sign","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a simple post this morning of a male Red-winged Blackbird singing on a sign next to the road from my recent trip up to Bear River MBR.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singing male Red-winged Blackbird on a refuge sign","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-singing-refuge-mia-mcpherson-5066.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-singing-refuge-mia-mcpherson-5066.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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I am snow weary. What I need is a bird, nature, gone exploring in the wild fix with no real or clear return time.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring male Red-winged Blackbird singing, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-spring-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1613.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7734,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/02\/songs-of-spring-red-winged-blackbirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":100179,"position":5},"title":"Songs of Spring – Red-winged Blackbirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Fairly soon I'll be seeing many more of the male Red-winged Blackbirds perching at the top of rushes and cattails singing springtime serenades for the females and flashing their brilliantly colored epaulets","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Red-winged Blackbird on a cattail at Bear River MBR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-male-5855.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-male-5855.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-male-5855.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}