Red-Winged Blackbird!

These beauties have been a particular pursuit of mine...to photograph one and get the markings clear.  A few months ago I missed a drive-by of an entire flock taking wing...no place to stop, no time to get the camera aimed.  I have lamented that fact ever since.

This is the best I have ever been able to do with them - I will not give up!

On a trip to Missouri, along I-64, through Indiana, there were red-wings on fence posts along a stretch of road...seemed to be evenly spaced.  I thought it odd, almost like they were guarding their territory.  I looked them up when I got to my computer and found this information, courtesy of Wikipedia.

"The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States. Claims have been made that it is the most abundant and best studied bird in North America.^[2] The Red-winged Blackbird is sexually dimorphic; the male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the Red-winged Blackbird's diet.

The range of the Red-winged Blackbird stretches from southern Alaska to the Yucatan peninsula in the south, and from the western coast of California and Canada to the east coast of the continent. Red-winged Blackbirds in the northern reaches of the range are migratory, spending winters in the southernUnited States and Central America. Migration begins in September or October, but occasionally as early as August. In western and middle America, populations are generally non-migratory. ^[14]

The Red-winged Blackbird inhabits open grassy areas. It generally prefers wetlands, and inhabits both freshwater and saltwater marshes, particularly if Typha (cattail) is present. It is also found in dry upland areas, where it inhabits meadows, prairies, and old fields."

That sure was a lot of information...which I will quickly forget!  I just know I like them!

 Linking to the Bird D'pot and Wild Bird Wednesday