{"id":8145,"date":"2013-04-19T04:23:13","date_gmt":"2013-04-19T10:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8145"},"modified":"2025-05-20T12:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T17:47:13","slug":"yellow-headed-blackbirds-are-back-in-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/19\/yellow-headed-blackbirds-are-back-in-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Yellow-headed Blackbirds Are Back In Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FlockFlock of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds<\/span><\/p>\n

Yellow-headed Blackbirds are back filling the marshy areas of Utah with their odd mechanical calls once again as the males court the females for their annual spring fling. If you have never heard their calls you can listen to it here<\/span><\/a> (about halfway down the page).\u00a0 I photographed this small flock of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds last April on Antelope Island Sate Park.<\/p>\n

\"Yellow-headedYellow-headed Blackbird male at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/p>\n

The auto tour route at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> is a terrific location to get up close to Yellow-headed Blackbirds where during the peak of breeding season you can see thousand of them flitting about or perched on the top of cattails, grasses and rushes. The males are easily identified by their black bodies and namesake yellow heads.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Yellow-headed Blackbirds are filling the marshy areas of Utah with their odd mechanical calls once again as the males court the females for their annual spring fling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145616,"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":[511,124,27,1148,1022,26,427],"tags":[3813,3483,2304,4247,1149,4035,4104,4178,1386],"class_list":["post-8145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","category-yellow-headed-blackbird","tag-blackbird","tag-blackbirds","tag-calls","tag-flock","tag-males","tag-nature-photography","tag-perched","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-blackbirds-flock-mia-mcpherson-2627.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-27n","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51446,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/29\/springtime-yellow-headed-blackbird-male\/","url_meta":{"origin":8145,"position":0},"title":"Springtime Yellow-headed Blackbird Male","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Yellow-head Blackbirds made their presence known at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago by displaying and because of their odd mechanical calls that sound like a rusty metal gate opening and closing.","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":"Springtime Yellow-headed Blackbird, 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-mia-mcpherson-9831.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-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-mia-mcpherson-9831.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-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21176,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/04\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-just-before-lift-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":8145,"position":1},"title":"Yellow-headed Blackbird Male Just Before Lift Off","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"To my delight the mechanical sounding calls of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds buzzed over the marshes of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning.","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 just before lift off, 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-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-3016.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-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-3016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yellow-headed Blackbird female on the shore of the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-black-bird-female-mia-mcpherson-1717.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-black-bird-female-mia-mcpherson-1717.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-black-bird-female-mia-mcpherson-1717.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-black-bird-female-mia-mcpherson-1717.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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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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Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I was surprised yesterday to be able to take portraits of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds because they normally fly away from me instead of flying towards me.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Yellow-headed Blackbird close up at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-portrait-mia-mcpherson-1068.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-portrait-mia-mcpherson-1068.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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