Lake Walcott: Red-Winged Blackbirds

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Lake Walcott: Red-Winged Blackbirds

July 5, 2012 by Pat Bean

Fall sketch of red-winged blackbird at Antelope Island State Park in Utah

“Identity would seem to be the garment with which one covers the nakedness of the self, in which case, it is best that the garment be loose, a little like the robes of the desert, through which one’s nakedness can always be felt, and sometimes, discerned.” James Arthur Baldwin.

One Thing Is Not Like the Other

Female red-winged blackbird — Wikipedia photo

Back in my earlier days of bird watching, I came across a small flock of birds at Green River State Park in Utah that I spent an hour, field guide in hand, trying to identify. They just didn’t quite fit the description of any North American bird, or so I was coming to conclude.

And then a lone male red-winged blackbird flew past – and the light bulb came on. My flock of birds were female red-winged blackbirds. It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen them before, I had just forgotten how unlike their mates they look.

You can find red-winged blackbirds anywhere you live here in North America.

Here at Lake Walcott State Park in Idaho, the males flash their scarlet epaulets boldly, saying look at me, look at me. The females, however, mostly stay hidden in the reeds growing on the lake bank, where they build their nests, in hopes they won’t be seen.

The show-off male — Wikipedia photo

It’s a rare day here at the park that I don’t see both birds, the females because I know where to look, and the males everywhere I look. This morning one was even checking out the fresh supply of sunflower seeds I had put in my bird feeder.

Life doesn’t get much better.

Bean’s Pat: Lady Romp http://tinyurl.com/cekabj8 A message we all need to remember. Blog pick of the day from this wandering wonderer.

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Favorite Places, Nature, Travel | Tagged antelope island state park, Idaho state parks, idenity, Lake Walcott, pat bean, postaday, red-winged blackbirds, Utah | 6 Comments

6 Responses

on July 5, 2012 at 11:45 pm | Reply Wazeau

I love your painting, particularly how you did the leaves. Wonderful colors.
- on July 6, 2012 at 12:18 am | Reply Pat Bean
  
  Thanks
on July 6, 2012 at 1:00 am | Reply ReaderWoman

LOVELY – I envy your talents – I don’t have any skills in the painting/sketching area – so I just love to see the talents others display! We have red-winged blackbirds out here in CA too – although if I have seen any females I didn’t recognize them as such…Thanks for a great blog on a day I was feeling blah!
- on July 6, 2012 at 2:17 am | Reply Pat Bean
  
  I think you would be surprised what you could do. The trick is to give yourself permission to paint an awful picture. That’s the best advice I ever got when it came to art.
on July 6, 2012 at 3:30 pm | Reply kristija48

Pat, I love the red winged black birds of southern Idaho. Growing up in Gooding, I remember hot summer days laying on the lawn (Lying?) under the willow tree watching them. Saw them all over in Blackfoot while we were there last month biking along the green space on the Snake River.
- on July 8, 2012 at 5:27 pm | Reply Pat Bean
  
  Thanks for commenting. Kristi. Magic Valley was where I saw my first Magpie, swooping over the Snake River. They didn’t have them in Texas where I grew up. This, along with the red-winged blackbirds, are special to me.