{"id":117825,"date":"2023-11-05T04:14:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T11:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=117825"},"modified":"2023-11-05T04:25:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T11:25:00","slug":"male-red-winged-blackbird-and-a-saltcedar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/05\/male-red-winged-blackbird-and-a-saltcedar\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Red-winged Blackbird And A Saltcedar"},"content":{"rendered":"

I saw this male Red-winged Blackbird perched in a Saltcedar on my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> and felt I had to stop to photograph him.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Red-winged Blackbird perched in a Saltcedar \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Saltcedars are introduced shrubs that are also called salt cedar or tamarisk. Despite the invasive tendencies of this shrub, I loved the setting this blackbird was perched in. The delicate and lacy leaves provided a nice contrast to the sleek black plumage of the bird.<\/p>\n

I had beautiful light on the blackbird that morning. In fact, the light was gorgeous throughout the entire morning and ideal for photographing my favorite subjects, which are the birds I find wherever I go.<\/p>\n

\"Red-wingedRed-winged Blackbird male in a Saltcedar \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw Red-winged Blackbirds<\/span><\/a> in many locations at the refuge that morning, but only this one was perched in a Saltcedar.<\/p>\n

Just beyond my viewfinder, dozens of other blackbirds were foraging for breakfast in the marsh. Some of the males were even singing from the tops of frost-tipped phragmites. After photographing this male, I sat quietly in my Jeep, listening to their songs while my eyes absorbed the stunning scenery of the refuge.<\/p>\n

It won’t be long before it snows, and the refuge will become quieter because fewer people will venture out onto the auto tour loop. I look forward to that time; I love the tranquility of winter at the refuge. This gorgeous oasis in the desert has come to mean quite a bit to me since I moved to Utah.<\/p>\n

I hope that this refuge survives the impacts of climate change. If it doesn’t, that would be beyond tragic for the birds and animals at the refuge, and people as well.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I saw this male Red-winged Blackbird perched in a Saltcedar on my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and felt I had to stop to photograph him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,27,1148,419,26],"tags":[4004,4151,970,3813,3483,4620,686,4062,4094,6853,4104,4324,5154,14556,14557,4095],"class_list":["post-117825","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-autumn","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-fall","tag-introduced","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-nonnative","tag-perched","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-salt-cedar","tag-saltcedar","tag-tamarisks","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t