Friday, October 19, 2012

Battle of the Blackbirds

DSC_0152 Yelow-headed blackbirds-kab Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Lakeside Park 10-9-2012

When Chris and I were at Lakeside Park last week we came upon a pair of yellow-headed blackbirds apparently “grazing” on the side of the steep hill that runs down to the lake.

DSC_0167 blackbirds and grackle-kab As we watched and photographed the birds we were surprised to see a female grackle land nearby.

DSC_0168 You can see by her size that she is much larger than the yellow-headed blackbirds.

DSC_0169 I don’t know what she wanted…

DSC_0170 but she walked with menace in her eyes…

DSC_0171 after checking things out…

DSC_0172 The Battle was on!

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DSC_0175 With leaps and posturing the birds fought for this piece of earth!

 

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DSC_0179 No one wanted to yield!

DSC_0202 But in the end, the Yellow-headed blackbirds won!

DSC_0210 And the went back to peacefully grazing!

If you would like to see all the birds we saw at Lakeside Park just click on the link:

16 comments:

  1. A great action packed post Kathie.{:)

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  2. Such an unusual display to capture.

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  3. They are pretty blackbirds! Great series, Kathie! Happy birding and have a great weekend!

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  4. Beautiful color on those yellow-headed ones and they sure do look peaceful in the last shot. How funny that they were fighting for that one section of lawn!

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    1. Diane, I know! Chris and I were both surprized to see them out in plain view!

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  5. Terrific action photographs, Kathie! Though the grackle was larger, the two blackbirds stood their ground. Those Yellow-headed Blackbirds certainly are pretty.

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    1. Julie, they are but their are not as pleasing to listen to as the red-wings! Their song or call is more like a growl!

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  6. GO Yellow headed Blackbirds, I am less attracted to aggressive Grackles...:-)

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  7. Hi Kathie

    Great post very dramatic.

    Guy

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  8. Amazing! I enjoyed the encounter so much! You took some wonderful photos.

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Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.