{"id":137887,"date":"2024-12-16T02:41:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T08:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=137887"},"modified":"2025-07-07T10:51:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T15:51:31","slug":"mesmerizing-red-winged-blackbird-murmurations-at-sequoyah-nwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/16\/mesmerizing-red-winged-blackbird-murmurations-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","title":{"rendered":"Mesmerizing Red-winged Blackbird Murmurations At Sequoyah NWR"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning, I’m sharing one photo that I took of the Red-winged Blackbird murmurations I saw on my last trip to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

\"Red-wingedRed-winged Blackbird murmuration \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/640, ISO 800, -0.7 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 360mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The light wasn\u2019t ideal, but I made do with the conditions I had. What I really wanted to highlight was the sheer mass of birds in just a small section of the murmuration. I wouldn\u2019t even try to estimate how many blackbirds were in this area of the refuge, let alone in this single frame.<\/p>\n

I know the majority of the blackbirds in this image are Red-winged Blackbirds, but there may be Common Grackles, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and Rusty Blackbirds mixed in with the flock. Even though I carefully looked through the larger, original file to spot any of those species, I gave up after a little while, there were just too many birds.<\/p>\n

I also attempted several videos of blackbird murmurations, but the wind noise was extremely annoying, and holding the camera by hand resulted in many jittery videos. Those will be deleted.<\/p>\n

The thing is, I really, really love taking photos of bird murmurations. Whether they are shorebirds like phalaropes, European Starlings, Red-winged Blackbirds, or other bird species, these murmurations<\/span><\/a> mesmerize and fascinate me.<\/p>\n

The murmurations are visual and, quite often, auditory delights. Even when the birds aren’t calling, the whoosh of their wings when or if they fly overhead tickles my auditory senses.<\/p>\n

These blackbirds were calling, and I could hear the sound of their wings from a distance as well.<\/p>\n

While I wish the light had been better last week, I know large flocks of blackbirds will be hanging around the refuge for some time yet. Hopefully, I will have more chances to photograph and video them in the weeks to come.<\/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":"

This morning, I’m sharing one photo that I took of the Red-winged Blackbird murmurations I saw on my last trip to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137884,"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":[13973,419,13974],"tags":[4151,970,3813,3483,14190,13984,4620,1124,4052,4247,4122,1637,4324,4076],"class_list":["post-137887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","category-red-winged-blackbirds","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-agelaius-phoeniceus","tag-autumn","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-fall","tag-field","tag-flight","tag-flock","tag-flying","tag-murmuration","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-trees"],"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