{"id":7734,"date":"2013-03-02T04:39:36","date_gmt":"2013-03-02T11:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=7734"},"modified":"2025-10-30T10:44:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T15:44:38","slug":"songs-of-spring-red-winged-blackbirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/02\/songs-of-spring-red-winged-blackbirds\/","title":{"rendered":"Songs of Spring – Red-winged Blackbirds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Red-winged Blackbird on a cattail at Bear River MBR – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday while taking the auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I heard a Red-winged Blackbird loudly singing the songs of spring.<\/p>\n

The light was terrible yesterday so I looked around in my files for a male Red-winged Blackbird to share this morning and came across this one taken at Bear River MBR a few years ago.<\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned before that black birds are difficult to expose properly and that often times I need to use exposure compensation to make sure the blacks aren’t too dark or they won’t show fine detail.<\/p>\n

When I took this image the light was just right and I didn’t need to adjust my exposure to get it right. I love it when that happens!<\/p>\n

Fairly soon I’ll be seeing many more of the male Red-winged Blackbirds<\/span><\/a> perching at the top of rushes and cattails singing\u00a0springtime serenades for the females and flashing their brilliantly colored epaulets!<\/p>\n

For black birds they are kind of flashy.<\/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":"

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":162284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,27,1148,419,26],"tags":[4004,4151,3813,3483,4366,4062,4094,4324,4092,4179,5050,165,4095],"class_list":["post-7734","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-cattails","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-refuge","tag-singing-2","tag-songs","tag-spring","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-mia-mcpherson-male-5855.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-20K","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"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":7734,"position":0},"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, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.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-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-nesting-material-mia-mcpherson-9331.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100179,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/24\/singing-male-red-winged-blackbird\/","url_meta":{"origin":7734,"position":1},"title":"Singing Male Red-winged Blackbird And A Birthday Wish","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this singing male Red-winged Blackbird earlier this month while enjoying the marshes and wetlands of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","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 at Bear River MBR, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-winged-blackbird-male-singing-mia-mcpherson-7320.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/red-winged-blackbird-male-singing-mia-mcpherson-7320.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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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":37993,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/09\/first-spring-red-winged-blackbird-males\/","url_meta":{"origin":7734,"position":3},"title":"First Spring Red-winged Blackbird Males","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was able to photograph several first spring Red-winged Blackbird males.","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":"First spring male Red-winged Blackbird back view, 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-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5353.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-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5353.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5353.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5353.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":7734,"position":4},"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":47290,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/06\/14\/female-red-winged-blackbirds-frequency-in-misidentification\/","url_meta":{"origin":7734,"position":5},"title":"Female Red-winged Blackbirds – Frequency in Misidentification","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic .","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 near her nest at the north beach of Fort De Soto County Park, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-winged-black-bird-mangroves-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-winged-black-bird-mangroves-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-winged-black-bird-mangroves-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-winged-black-bird-mangroves-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7734","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=7734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}