{"id":37993,"date":"2016-04-09T06:47:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T12:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=37993"},"modified":"2025-10-30T14:52:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T19:52:22","slug":"first-spring-red-winged-blackbird-males","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/09\/first-spring-red-winged-blackbird-males\/","title":{"rendered":"First Spring Red-winged Blackbird Males"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FirstFirst spring male Red-winged Blackbird – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph several first spring Red-winged Blackbird males. These blackbirds were hatched last year and haven’t yet developed their adult plumage or Definitive Basic Plumage.<\/p>\n

The plumage of first spring male Red-winged Blackbirds is variable. They aren’t an all over glossy looking black with flashy epaulets<\/a><\/span> at this age!<\/p>\n

\"SingingSinging first spring Red-winged Blackbird male – Nikon D810, f10, 1\/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Their epaulets are more orange, blackish or red-orange instead of bright red and yellow. These first two images show the same individual bird. The under part of the wings show more brown than black.<\/p>\n

Although this young male is singing on territory I am not sure they breed their first spring or if they wait until their second year when they have their adult plumage.<\/p>\n

\"FirstFirst spring male Red-winged Blackbird back view – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This image shows the back view of a first spring Red-winged Blackbird<\/span><\/a> male with rufous and cream edges on his feathers that wouldn’t be seen in adult or Definitive Basic Plumage.<\/p>\n

This individual does not have a white bill, it appears to have been poking its bill into light colored soil or mud while foraging for prey and the mud has been caked on its bill.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Birds make it more interesting for me.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph several first spring Red-winged Blackbird males.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":162349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_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":[4151,3813,3483,4642,5047,4067,4071,4062,4324,4179],"class_list":["post-37993","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-agelaius-phoeniceus","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-definitive-basic-plumage","tag-first-spring","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-male","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-singing-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5353.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-9SN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":117825,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/05\/male-red-winged-blackbird-and-a-saltcedar\/","url_meta":{"origin":37993,"position":0},"title":"Male Red-winged Blackbird And A Saltcedar","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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 perched in a Saltcedar, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, 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":111843,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/31\/snow-weary-and-needing-a-bird-fix\/","url_meta":{"origin":37993,"position":1},"title":"Snow Weary And Needing A Bird Fix","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"More fresh snow on the ground this morning. 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":113482,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/19\/adult-male-red-winged-blackbird-crooner\/","url_meta":{"origin":37993,"position":2},"title":"Adult Male Red-winged Blackbird Crooner","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The last time I went up to Bear River MBR, I photographed this male Red-winged Blackbird crooner singing loud and strong.","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 crooner, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/red-winged-blackbird-male-crooner-mia-mcpherson-1435.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/red-winged-blackbird-male-crooner-mia-mcpherson-1435.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/red-winged-blackbird-male-crooner-mia-mcpherson-1435.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/red-winged-blackbird-male-crooner-mia-mcpherson-1435.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110715,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/04\/singing-red-winged-blackbird-male\/","url_meta":{"origin":37993,"position":3},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/red-winged-blackbird-male-adult-singing-mia-mcpherson-5359.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-adult-singing-mia-mcpherson-5359.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":37993,"position":4},"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 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2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14615,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/25\/red-winged-blackbirds-are-courting-and-nesting-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":37993,"position":5},"title":"Red-winged Blackbirds are Courting and Nesting at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Red-winged Blackbirds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge have courting and nest building on their minds now that spring is upon us.","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":"Female Red-winged Blackbird with nesting material at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, 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