{"id":83477,"date":"2021-04-06T05:55:02","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T11:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=83477"},"modified":"2025-05-20T14:39:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T19:39:40","slug":"spring-yellow-headed-blackbird-male-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/06\/spring-yellow-headed-blackbird-male-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Yellow-headed Blackbird Male Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Yellow-headed Blackbird perched in phrags \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> yesterday morning and came home with some spring Yellow-headed Blackbird photos I am happy with. My drive around the auto tour route was leisurely and relaxed because I wanted to absorb and be enchanted by all of the sounds and sights of the wetlands awakening from the quieter winter days. The calls and songs of the birds in the marsh were soothing.<\/p>\n

Okay, well not all the calls and songs. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are not exactly what I would call musical when they call<\/span><\/a> and sing<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Descriptions of their calls and songs range from an “unmusical squawk” to a “screeching buzz, rather like a heavy door swinging on a very rusty metal hinge” which some people may find grating. I like the sounds they make although I still wouldn’t call their songs musical.<\/p>\n

\"SpringSpring Yellow-headed Blackbird male \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When I found a very cooperative male Yellow-headed Blackbird perched in phrags on the west side of the auto tour route I stopped my Jeep to photograph him. After a few moments he flew in even closer to me than he was when I first approached him in the lovely morning light. There were a few times When I could barely fit his entire body in the frame. The light morning breeze bounced the blackbird and the fluffy seedheads of the phragmites<\/span><\/a> around frequently.<\/p>\n

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

This male Yellow-headed Blackbird and the female Red-winged Blackbirds that were also in the same area were snatching midges from the phrags and from the air as they flew by. The midges are great bird food<\/span><\/a> and they don’t bite humans.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Yellow-headed Blackbird on an April morning \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Just the few moments I had with this male Yellow-headed Blackbird in my viewfinder would have made the long drive to the refuge before sunrise worth it. I photographed other birds though and I am sure they will appear here on my site soon along with the stories behind them.<\/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":"

I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning and came home with some spring Yellow-headed Blackbird photos I am happy with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145663,"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":[124,27,1148,26,427],"tags":[4004,3813,3483,4062,4094,4378,4099,4104,4059,6428,165,4095,4178,1386],"class_list":["post-83477","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-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-wetlands","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-adult-phrags-mia-mcpherson-3783.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-lIp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":125374,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/22\/male-yellow-headed-blackbird-video-and-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":83477,"position":0},"title":"Male Yellow-headed Blackbird Video And Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","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 on the last day of winter, 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-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1075.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-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1075.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1075.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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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":101040,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/26\/singing-female-yellow-headed-blackbird-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":83477,"position":2},"title":"Singing Female Yellow-headed Blackbird At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I had a wonderful and relaxing morning at Bear River MBR yesterday and took photos of a female Yellow-headed Blackbird singing on the marsh not long after sunrise.","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 female 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-adult-female-spring-mia-mcpherson-4808.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-adult-female-spring-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-adult-female-spring-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-adult-female-spring-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":84690,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/16\/male-yellow-headed-blackbird-on-a-rock\/","url_meta":{"origin":83477,"position":3},"title":"Male Yellow-headed Blackbird On A Rock","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On Monday while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge one of the first birds I photographed was a male Yellow-headed Blackbird resting on a rock.","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 resting on a rock, 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-rock-mia-mcpherson-5301.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-rock-mia-mcpherson-5301.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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-1642.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":83477,"position":5},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/yellow-headed-blackbird-male-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-3016.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-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-3016.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\/83477","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=83477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}