{"id":83662,"date":"2021-04-07T04:53:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T10:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=83662"},"modified":"2025-10-31T06:07:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:07:57","slug":"female-red-winged-blackbird-munching-a-midge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/07\/female-red-winged-blackbird-munching-a-midge\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Red-winged Blackbird Munching A Midge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FemaleFemale Red-winged Blackbird munching a midge \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m keeping my post short and sweet this morning because I plan on hitting the road well before the sun comes up. In my post yesterday I mentioned that there were female Red-winged Blackbirds foraging for midges alongside the male Yellow-headed Blackbird<\/span><\/a> on the west side of the auto tour route of Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a>. This is one of those females.<\/p>\n

What I liked about this photo was that I caught the female Red-winged Blackbird with her bill open while she was munching on a midge. I also liked the warm morning light, how she was framed by the phrags, and the great eye contact I had with her. I took more photos of this female Red-winged Blackbird and the others that were nearby two days ago and I hope to share more of those images in the future.<\/p>\n

It was a beautiful, quiet, and relaxing morning at the refuge.<\/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":"

What I liked about this photo was that I caught the female Red-winged Blackbird with her bill open while she was munching on a midge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":162404,"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":[124,27,1148,419,26],"tags":[4004,4151,3813,3483,4070,4094,4365,2759,4059,6428,4324,165,4095],"class_list":["post-83662","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-female","tag-marsh","tag-midge","tag-munching","tag-phragmites","tag-phrags","tag-red-winged-blackbird","tag-spring","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-munching-midge-mia-mcpherson-3723.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-lLo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16145,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/10\/15\/red-winged-blackbird-and-a-midge\/","url_meta":{"origin":83662,"position":0},"title":"Red-winged Blackbird and a Midge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This male Red-winged Blackbird was photographed yesterday at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-winged Blackbird and a Midge, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-male-mia-mcpherson-2517.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-male-mia-mcpherson-2517.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-male-mia-mcpherson-2517.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-male-mia-mcpherson-2517.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138760,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/14\/female-red-winged-blackbirds-in-fog-and-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":83662,"position":1},"title":"Female Red-winged Blackbirds In Fog And Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"After the recent snowstorm in Arkansas, I photographed several female Red-winged Blackbirds in foggy, snowy conditions. I had a great time taking their photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-winged Blackbirds in fog and snow, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-winged-blackbird-females-snow-fog-mia-mcpherson-9324.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4574,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/03\/02\/red-winged-blackbirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":83662,"position":2},"title":"Red-winged Blackbirds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Red-winged Blackbirds are birds that I associate with spring, the males begin calling perched on top of reeds, cattails, grasses and shrubs and flash their brightly colored coverts to attract a mate.","rel":"","context":"In "Florida"","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/florida\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-winged Blackbird with nesting material, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.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-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-black-bird-female-nesting-mia-mcpherson-5888.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49384,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/11\/11\/female-red-winged-blackbird-eating-wild-sunflower-seeds-in-autumn\/","url_meta":{"origin":83662,"position":3},"title":"Female Red-winged Blackbird Eating Wild Sunflower Seeds In Autumn","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many species of birds on Antelope Island State Park are pigging out on wild sunflower seeds at this time of the year including Red-winged Blackbirds.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-winged Blackbird eating wild sunflower seeds, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-6333.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-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-6333.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/red-winged-blackbird-female-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-6333.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-sunflower-mia-mcpherson-6333.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":83662,"position":4},"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":[]},{"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":83662,"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, 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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83662","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=83662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}