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"Blackbird Moon." A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flies past the rising moon while on their way to an evening roost site in the cattails. Behind the lens. While camping in Arizona one winter, we noticed the blackbirds flocking in each night. Right after sunset, groups numbering in the dozens would flock in together. Flying at full speed, they'd dive into the cattails at the head of our small lake and roost there for the night. So the next evening, we kayaked out and parked in front of the cattails, and waited. The sun set, the full moon rose, and the blackbirds started arriving. I kept my camera pointed at the moon, and I pressed the shutter every time a flock flew across my view. Out of 20-30 frames, this was the only image I got that had a bird in front of the moon. A little observation, a little planning -- and a little luck.
"Blackbird Moon." A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flies past the rising moon while on their way to an evening roost site in the cattails. Behind the lens. While camping in Arizona one winter, we noticed the blackbirds flocking in each night. Right after sunset, groups numbering in the dozens would flock in together. Flying at full speed, they'd dive into the cattails at the head of our small lake and roost there for the night. So the next evening, we kayaked out and parked in front of the cattails, and waited. The sun set, the full moon rose, and the blackbirds started arriving. I kept my camera pointed at the moon, and I pressed the shutter every time a flock flew across my view. Out of 20-30 frames, this was the only image I got that had a bird in front of the moon. A little observation, a little planning -- and a little luck.
"Nesting Instinct." A Red-winged Blackbird arrives with a beak full of carefully selected grasses that she will artfully weave into a nest cup, creating a nursery for her future family. You can read more about Red-winged Blackbirds here at my "Wild & Free Montana" website. Behind the lens. As kids, I think every one of us has made a mustache of grass or moss or some such item. And that's what this photograph reminds me of -- I smile every time I view it. Female Red-winged Blackbirds are pretty easy to identify, as long as they're in the marsh where you'd expect them. But move them into a different habitat and it gets surprisingly hard. I was leading a flock of people on a bird walk once when I noticed a group of mottled brown birds perched in the branches halfway up a tree. Seeing a chance to make mischief, I pointed out the birds and asked my birders to identify them. Gasp -- no one could, but only because they'd never seen them in a tree before. I knew this would happen because, a few days earlier, the same female blackbirds had fooled me.
"Red-winged Blackbird." Its takes two years before a male Red-winged Blackbird acquires its red and yellow shoulder epaulets. You can read more about Red-winged Blackbirds here at my "Wild & Free Montana" website. Behind the lens. This is the quintessential marsh bird -- everyone knows, or should know, Red-winged Blackbirds. The females are a cryptic brown, but the males are unmistakable in their breeding plumage. I love photographs that show birds' wings at work. They allow you to stop and examine each feather, how it flexes and how it's used. But if you don't include some blur, then the bird looks motionless and out-of-sorts. So I was especially pleased at how this photograph turned out. Every feather has a function, the wingtips are in motion, and the focus is right where it should be -- on the eye.
"Blackbird Moon."

A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flies past the rising moon while on their way to an evening roost site in the cattails.

Behind the lens.

While camping in Arizona one winter, we noticed the blackbirds flocking in each night. Right after sunset, groups numbering in the dozens would flock in together. Flying at full speed, they'd dive into the cattails at the head of our small lake and roost there for the night.

So the next evening, we kayaked out and parked in front of the cattails, and waited. The sun set, the full moon rose, and the blackbirds started arriving.

I kept my camera pointed at the moon, and I pressed the shutter every time a flock flew across my view. Out of 20-30 frames, this was the only image I got that had a bird in front of the moon.

A little observation, a little planning -- and a little luck.
A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flies past the rising moon while on their way to an evening roost site in the cattails. Behind the lens. While camping in Arizona one winter, we noticed the blackbirds flocking in each night. Right after sunset, groups numbering in the dozens would flock in together. Flying at full speed, they'd dive into the cattails at the head of our small lake and roost there for the night. So the next evening, we kayaked out and parked in front of the cattails, and waited. The sun set, the full moon rose, and the blackbirds started arriving. I kept my camera pointed at the moon, and I pressed the shutter every time a flock flew across my view. Out of 20-30 frames, this was the only image I got that had a bird in front of the moon. A little observation, a little planning -- and a little luck." href="javascript:openLB(1576168125,'',XLarge,'',1024,683);">"Blackbird Moon." A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flies past the rising moon while on their way to an evening roost site in the cattails. Behind the lens. While camping in Arizona one winter, we noticed the blackbirds flocking in each night. Right after sunset, groups numbering in the dozens would flock in together. Flying at full speed, they'd dive into the cattails at the head of our small lake and roost there for the night. So the next evening, we kayaked out and parked in front of the cattails, and waited. The sun set, the full moon rose, and the blackbirds started arriving. I kept my camera pointed at the moon, and I pressed the shutter every time a flock flew across my view. Out of 20-30 frames, this was the only image I got that had a bird in front of the moon. A little observation, a little planning -- and a little luck.
"Blackbird Moon."

A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flies past the rising moon while on their way to an evening roost site in the cattails.

Behind the lens.

While camping in Arizona one winter, we noticed the blackbirds flocking in each night. Right after sunset, groups numbering in the dozens would flock in together. Flying at full speed, they'd dive into the cattails at the head of our small lake and roost there for the night.

So the next evening, we kayaked out and parked in front of the cattails, and waited. The sun set, the full moon rose, and the blackbirds started arriving.

I kept my camera pointed at the moon, and I pressed the shutter every time a flock flew across my view. Out of 20-30 frames, this was the only image I got that had a bird in front of the moon.

A little observation, a little planning -- and a little luck.
See photo in original gallery.
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