{"id":125374,"date":"2024-03-22T04:09:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T10:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=125374"},"modified":"2025-05-08T05:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T10:43:08","slug":"male-yellow-headed-blackbird-video-and-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/22\/male-yellow-headed-blackbird-video-and-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Yellow-headed Blackbird Video And Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week I stopped to take a video of a singing male Yellow-headed Blackbird on the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a>. I’m glad I did.<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/div><\/div>\n

The song of the ‘rusty gate’ blackbird species makes me smile. Even though the blackbird was across the water, my Nikon D810 picked up its song along with the calls of other birds too.<\/p>\n

The Killdeer calling in flight was the loudest but I can hear a Red-winged Blackbird, Marsh Wren, and a Song Sparrow too.<\/p>\n

I hope you all can see the blackbird in the video. Sorry for the little bit of shake in the video, I’m taking these handheld.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Yellow-headed Blackbird on the last day of winter \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the Yellow-headed Blackbird in the video. He wasn’t close enough for a frame-filling image, but I like this photo anyway.<\/p>\n

I did see other Yellow-headed Blackbirds on the auto tour loop. Some of them were snatching midges from the air, but they were always on the wrong side of the road or in poor light. I didn’t get any close photos of this species that morning.<\/p>\n

\"Yellow-headedYellow-headed Blackbird male in spring \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I already have tons of those photos, like this one from April of 2021. I remember having a blast photographing him up close on the west side of the auto tour loop. It was just me, the birds, and the peaceful feeling that flows into me at the refuge.<\/p>\n

Soon, more birds on spring migration will arrive at the marshes of the refuge to nest. Other birds will stop by to fuel up for longer journeys to their breeding grounds. I wish them all a successful breeding season.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Earlier this week I stopped to take a video of a singing male Yellow-headed Blackbird on the auto tour loop of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. I’m glad I did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143370,"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":[124,27,1148,26,5362,427],"tags":[4004,3813,3483,4062,4094,4378,4099,4104,4059,6428,165,2791,4095,373,4178,1386],"class_list":["post-125374","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-utah","category-video","category-yellow-headed-blackbird","tag-adult","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-morning","tag-morning-light","tag-perched","tag-phragmites","tag-phrags","tag-spring","tag-video","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-xanthocephalus-xanthocephalus","tag-yellow-headed-blackbird"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1075.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-wCa","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58229,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/29\/five-male-yellow-headed-blackbird-images-from-the-marsh-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":125374,"position":0},"title":"Five Male Yellow-headed Blackbird Images From The Marsh At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I wanted to share a five image series of a male Yellow-headed Blackbird that I photographed in the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge this morning that I took the second week of May.","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":"Yellow-headed Blackbird male preening on a cattail, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3538.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3538.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3538.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-3538.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4849,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/20\/yellow-headed-blackbird-and-a-midge\/","url_meta":{"origin":125374,"position":1},"title":"Yellow-headed Blackbird and a Midge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) can perch on cattails, reeds, rushes or mounds of vegetation and snatch Midges right out of the air.","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":"Yellow-headed Blackbird male about to grab a midge from the air, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-4765.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-4765.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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I'm seeing them perched on cattails, phragmites and in flight.","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":"Yellow-headed Blackbird male displaying, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-1642.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-1642.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-1642.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-displaying-mia-mcpherosn-5386.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-displaying-mia-mcpherosn-5386.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-displaying-mia-mcpherosn-5386.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-displaying-mia-mcpherosn-5386.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83477,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/06\/spring-yellow-headed-blackbird-male-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":125374,"position":4},"title":"Spring Yellow-headed Blackbird Male Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and came home with some spring Yellow-headed Blackbird photos I am happy with.","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 Yellow-headed Blackbird perched in phrags, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-adult-phrags-mia-mcpherson-3783.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-adult-phrags-mia-mcpherson-3783.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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