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10,000 Birds
MARCH 5, 2014
Even garden variety Red-winged Blackbirds are fun to play with in slow motion. Here’s a sample of what I got at the feeders at Santa Ana NWR last week: I love the way the blackbirds sound in slow motion…a little terrifying. Here’s a trailer for it: Birds blackbirds digiscoping As a freelancer who lives in Minnesota, I try to plan work in warmer areas in the winter.
10,000 Birds
AUGUST 13, 2014
More than 99% of the population of Tricolored Blackbirds ( Agelaius tricolor ) live within the state of California and form the largest colonies of any North American passerine bird 1. The Results of the 2014 Tricolored Blackbird Statewide Survey confirm that this species is in rapid decline. ” Blackbirds, among other species, are also killed every year for consuming sunflower seeds mostly in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
10,000 Birds
MARCH 14, 2012
Red-winged Blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ) Male (click on photos for full sized images) This time of year, Red-winged Blackbirds are gathering on nesting grounds in wetlands but also in uplands and agricultural habitats. Right now though, you would most probably see flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds preparing to mate and nest. Sometimes the male Red-winged Blackbird will sing with no obvious recipients in sight! Birds bird song blackbirds Red-winged Blackbirds
10,000 Birds
JUNE 24, 2016
Blackbirds, as a family, often have those simple descriptive names that are easy to mock ( Yellow-rumped Warbler , ugh) until a non-birder comes describing such a species to you and asking for an ID. Then you bless the folk wisdom that gave the Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird , and even the Rusty Blackbird their names. Which is not to say that the creeping hand of ornithological nepotism has never touched the blackbirds.
10,000 Birds
DECEMBER 24, 2011
This reminded me of an occasion when I noted similar behaviour by a Eurasian Blackbird , Turdus merula. Heavy competition may have forced the bird to “get creative and adapt to other food sources” The Blackbird was faced with a similar challenge, except that the ground was rock solid on account of a hot dry spring. It was the blackbird landing on the path with a wet, glistening newt, which it proceeded to batter to death.
10,000 Birds
JANUARY 23, 2012
You may already know about this, but I was not aware that a pure white Blackbird (the thrush, not the icterid) can be found at Rufford Abbey Country Park in Nottinghamshire, UK. Asides blackbirds thrushesIn fact, this leucistic lovely ( check out the pic ) has resided at the park for the last four years. Thanks to reader Sher Buckner for the tip. BONUS TRIVIA: Nottingham is , of course, also the home of famous archer, outlaw, and liberal economist (I kid!) Robin Hood.
10,000 Birds
JULY 27, 2013
Blackbirds are blackbirds. In the new world all meadowlarks and blackbirds, along with grackles, cowbirds, orioles, oropendulas, and some others, are members of the family Icteridae , the New World Blackbirds. adult male Red-breasted Blackbird showing off its namesake. However the Red-breasted Blackbird ended up with its appellation doesn’t matter as much as how great a bird it is, well worth a trip to Trinidad and Tobago to see.
10,000 Birds
MAY 22, 2012
While at Flushing Meadows Corona Park near my house in Queens this evening putting my new lens through its paces,* I was entertained by the strafing runs that the Red-winged Blackbirds were taking at every Fish Crow that flew by. Birds Bird Behavior blackbirds crows Flushing Meadows Corona Park
10,000 Birds
MARCH 3, 2012
Wallace Stevens’ “ Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird ” is a marvel of modernist poetry. It is only 246 words long, divided into thirteen sections, each labeled with the corresponding Roman numeral, and a surface reading will show that it is about, not surprisingly, thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird. VIII I know noble accents And lucid, inescapable rhythms; But I know, too, That the blackbird is involved In what I know.
10,000 Birds
MARCH 14, 2012
I’ve been reading Bernd Heinrich’s Summer World lately and was struck by his description of the song of the Red-winged Blackbird as “oog-la-ee.” What follows is a rundown of a dozen different authors’ take on the song of the Red-winged Blackbird. ” – a subjective description as a bird was stealing his newly planted corn David Sibley “kon-ka-reeeee” What do you think Red-winged Blackbirds say?
10,000 Birds
JUNE 8, 2011
Yellow-headed Blackbirds ( Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus ) are robin-sized blackbirds found in prairie and mountain meadow wetlands of the western and central United States and Canada. You can hear the Yellow-headed Blackbird call by clicking on the sound link courtesy of Xeno-Canto.org. The female Yellow-headed Blackbird is not quite as flashy as her beau, but she doesn’t need to be. Birds "Yellow-headed Blackbirds
10,000 Birds
JUNE 17, 2013
For a birder, a sighting of a Tricolored Blackbird is a treat. Add in habitat loss, and the population of Tricolored Blackbirds has plunged enough to necessitate listing it as a Bird of Conservation Concern on the U.S. For more about Tricolored Blackbirds and the threats they face, check out the comprehensive Tricolored Blackbird Portal.). In the meantime, the farmer/conservationist partnership is a win–win for everyone, especially the Tricolored Blackbirds.
10,000 Birds
JULY 2, 2021
The bird is, of course, none other than the Common Blackbird ( Turdus merula ), the original blackbird of European folklore and nursery rhyme fame, better known to North American birders as the Eurasian Blackbird and unrelated to those “blackbirds” of the family Icteridae found in the New World.
10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 2, 2018
But the name of this beer had nothing to do with “Sixteen Tons” of coal, or “Okies” from Muskogee, but birds: merle is also the French word for “blackbird”. And, of course, by blackbirds I mean true thrushes of the family Turdidae , of which the Common (Eurasian) Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) is the most famous in European culture and folklore. Brewer’s Blackbird is a more beery icterid than most, but it’s no merle.
10,000 Birds
OCTOBER 18, 2019
But North Coast also makes a bird-themed beer, Le Merle, an interpretation of a Belgian, farmhouse-style saison with a name borrowed from the French word for the Common (Eurasian) Blackbird ( Turdus merula ). Trinity left a spooky silhouette of the blackbird on the label as a vestige of their beer’s original name, but it isn’t as an unmistakable likeness of the species as the handsome black-on-silver design by North Coast.
10,000 Birds
JANUARY 1, 2021
I wasn’t joking – the Brewer’s Blackbirds outside the Bovine Bakery really were expecting us to share our scones with them. As we’d just eaten our breakfast with the blackbirds, Katherine and I had some time to kill before our next meal.
10,000 Birds
APRIL 18, 2020
Lady Helen’s thundering progress kicked up the turf and brought opportunities for our resident Eurasian Blackbirds. Birding Eurasian Blackbird European RobinIt has been a difficult week so far.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 19, 2013
The bright lights of the city at night cause young Eurasian Blackbirds to mature faster according to a new study. Birds Eurasian Blackbird science Urban Birding
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 5, 2012
So, to cut things short, there is sickness all around me, and I have thus decided to have my February post whistle to that tune as well and give an update to the mysterious die-off amongst our Eurasian Blackbirds that occurred around my home turf in Heidelberg last summer – blogged about here. A short summary of events described in this former blog post of mine: We are talking about the thrush called Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula , not the American Icterids.
10,000 Birds
AUGUST 2, 2019
As its colorful and endearing label makes plain (if not the exact spelling of the name), this Red Wing wine is named not for the Old World thrush Redwing ( Turdus iliacus ), but for that beloved and abundant North American icterid, the Red-winged Blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ). Birding Food Reviews Birds and Booze Finger Lakes Montezuma Red-winged Blackbirds wine
10,000 Birds
MARCH 25, 2011
The national bird of Sweden is the Blackbird Turdus merula , otherwise known as the Common Blackbird or Eurasian Blackbird , though, of course, in Sweden it is not known by any of those names but as Koltrast.* The Blackbird became the Swedish national bird as a result of a newspaper poll in 1962. Despite my inability to figure out why, exactly, Sweden chose the Blackbird it seems like an excellent choice, especially if one likes The Beatles.
10,000 Birds
SEPTEMBER 4, 2011
But something happened, and it happened many times: Something has been killing our Blackbirds. We interrupt this blog post for an important message: This is the kind of Blackbird I am talking about, the Eurasian thrush that is Turdus merula, and not the American group of iconic Icterids you might have had in mind. But there is a catch: Something has allegedly , apparently , with increasing probability as we gather more data , … been killing our Blackbirds.
10,000 Birds
JANUARY 20, 2013
For those of us in the Americas, nine-primaried oscines are among our most familiar and beloved birds: finches; sparrows, juncos, and towhees; warblers; blackbirds, meadowlarks, and orioles; cardinals and grosbeaks; and tanagers. Icteridae : New World blackbirds, orioles, meadowlarks, etc. For example, rather than putting Yellow-breasted Chat in its own family, Boyd puts it within the blackbird family. Or blackbirds and warblers?
10,000 Birds
JUNE 21, 2013
Worst off were the Red-winged Blackbirds. ” “It’s a Red-winged Blackbird!” Birds rain Red-winged Blackbirds Perhaps my greatest handicap as a birder, aside from not driving, the whole being lazy thing, and the poor eyesight, is my +10 weakness against sun. I’ll stand in the cold and damp on, say, a pelagic trip until I just about fall over, hoping for one more good alcid.
10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 19, 2014
Blackbirds foraging in the dead of night? News Aplomado Falcon big year Bird Flu Bohemian Waxwing Conservation European Blackbirds Great Bustards Gunnison Sage Grouse hummingbirds Magee Marsh South Island Saddlebacks Finally some good-ish news for the Gunnison Sage Grouse : The boomers of the Rocky Mountain states have finally been granted “threatened species” protection. Which means hopefully their plummeting numbers will stabilize and grow.
10,000 Birds
JULY 4, 2014
Eurasian Blackbirds living in cities have learned to keep their cool, compared with rural birds. News Bell Miner Birds Eurasian Blackbird kenya Zebra Finches If you’ve got some downtime between barbecues and fireworks (or, outside of the U.S., obsessing over World Cup matches), here’s some bird news to peruse: Loss of suitable habitat , instead of insecticides, seems to be the culprit in declining numbers of grassland birds. Know what else kills grassland birds?
10,000 Birds
SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
The well manicured area near the entrance was watered with a sprinkler system, and the mown area was quite popular with the Brewer’s Blackbirds. Birding Central Oregon sandhill crane Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge Trumpeter Swan Yellow-headed BlackbirdThe first of September marked the start of quite a bit of travel for Jeanne and I. As all of you know, that means new birds to see with all this new territory visited.
10,000 Birds
MARCH 24, 2022
There is a saying among birders – not very well known – that if life gives you lemonade, you should take photos of Chinese Blackbird chicks. These blackbirds actually share the building with me, though they live outside the main walls while I live inside.
10,000 Birds
APRIL 6, 2022
Brewer’s Blackbirds are rare treats down here in Michoacán. Still, this Carrion Crow in Munich, Germany, had that Blackbird beat: It came so close to me that it did not fit in the camera’s frame. Well, it finally happened.
10,000 Birds
OCTOBER 3, 2021
He got to some of the hotspots in his home town and enjoyed seeing a variety of fall migrants from wood-warblers to blackbirds. October can be a fantastic birding season in the right places. With hope, you’ve found yourself in one of those places!
10,000 Birds
MARCH 16, 2018
According to one legend, Kevin was kneeling in prayer one day when a blackbird alighted on his outstretched hand and began to build a nest. Not wishing to disturb the bird, Kevin resigned to hold his reverent stance until the eggs she laid hatched and the young blackbirds fledged, which he did with stoic perseverance for weeks. Saint Kevin and the blackbirds. So why a blackbird? The Saint Kevin blackbird legend, as depicted by Welsh artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins. __.
10,000 Birds
DECEMBER 16, 2020
There were large flocks of Brown-headed Cowbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds , with some Red-winged Blackbirds in the mix. Up close, you could see mostly Yellow-headed Blackbirds , but with some Cowbirds mixed in.
10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 3, 2021
Great clouds of Blackbirds and Cowbirds , with a high percentage of Yellow-headed Blackbirds ? But in flight, and high in the reeds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds come to the fore.
10,000 Birds
JUNE 2, 2022
Common Redstart , European Greenfinch , Song Thrush , Eurasian Blackbird , Common Nightingale , Eurasian Blue and Great T**s , Eurasian Blackcap and Eurasian Nuthatch were singing from every direction conceivable.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 16, 2022
I was very pleased to see several Brewer’s Blackbirds mixed in with a large group of Brown-headed Cowbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Bronzed Cowbirds may look like those Brewer’s Blackbirds. Every year, Ducks Unlimited of Mexico, A.C.
10,000 Birds
MARCH 15, 2020
I saw my first migratory Eastern Phoebe of 2020 this morning at Cunningham Park in my home borough of Queens, where I was looking for my first Rusty Blackbirds of the year. (I
10,000 Birds
MARCH 8, 2020
For me, the view of Red-winged Blackbirds puffed up with territorial bravado signals the approach of spring, even if we’re have to endure a few more snowstorms to get there!
10,000 Birds
DECEMBER 26, 2019
Common Blackbird. This sounds like an exciting topic for a blog post, right? Birds of a specific place with an unpronounceable name that you have never heard of? Well, this post is more specific than that – it is about the birds of Fliederweg 7, 27374 Visselhövede, Germany.
10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 6, 2021
424 Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula. 480 Yellow-headed Blackbird – Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. 496 Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus. 497 Tricolored Blackbird – Agelaius tricolor. 502 Melodious Blackbird – Dives dives.
10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 8, 2015
An angry Red-winged Blackbird attacked again and again, flashing its bright epaulettes and hitting the heron hard in the middle of its back. The blackbird appeared to be purposefully targeting the heron’s back. It continued to fish, working its way slowly along the bank while the blackbird continued its assault. As an exercise in futility, few chores can rival deleting photographs to gain a bit of space on your hard drive.
10,000 Birds
MARCH 22, 2013
Among the “First Four” games, the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds faced the squad from James Madison University. At least one local European Starling decided to cheer on the Blackbirds at University of Dayton Arena in Ohio, flying around the court and even touching down on the hardwood before perching in the rafters. LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds. Greetings, 10,000 Birds readers! I’m thrilled to be contributing all the little tidbits I find to the Nature News beat.
10,000 Birds
APRIL 26, 2020
We got out to Lucien Morin during a break in the rain and saw nothing more seasonal than Red-winged Blackbirds claiming their individual patches of marshland. April showers most assuredly bring May flowers in the more temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere.
10,000 Birds
JUNE 3, 2020
And then there are those startling bright red eyes, which distinguish them from all other blackbirds in my region, and make them look quite capable of peering into your soul and taking over your will. I’m not particularly proud of these photos.
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