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Friday, November 11, 2011

FLYday - Red-winged Blackbirds and European Starlings In Flight


Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starlings on flight take off, Maine

Flyday is an homage to what our feathered friends do best, fly.

22 comments:

  1. Stunning image, Robin!! I've never seen so many at once. Maybe someday! ~karen

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  2. Karen, thank very much. They are the most common of birds. But, like this they are at their best. Well, I have to say I do love RW Blackbirds in the spring in marshland when there are thousands of them squabbling over mates and nest spots.

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  3. Do they migrate together? A few years ago I was surprised to find a lone red-wing blackbird amongst a flock of immigrant starlings. Though here on the prairie the starlings tend to winter in great flocks
    so I wonder if the blackbird was unable to migrate south and joined them for the winter. Hugs!

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  4. Thank you, Tess, for the view, comments and questions. Lot of the 'smaller' birds, or passerines, group together in the winter and during migration. Safety in numbers at play there.

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  5. Oh my goodness Robin, what a spectacular photo! I look at it and wonder what they feel like. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I could fly like a bird. I wish I had wings.

    l'Heure Bleue
    November 11, 2011 12:31 PM

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  6. l'Heure Bleue, thank you. What impressed me the most was the sounds of rushing, whirring wings. Amazing.

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  7. Hey Robin...WOW!! that is an amazing shot!!
    Nothing like mixing it up....they say safety in numbers and the numbers are sure here!!
    Must have been a real loud sound of flapping wings!!

    Grace

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  8. Ever read the old book, Arnie the starling? It will make you love the starlings

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  9. Awesome shot, Robin! It makes the red of the wings and the yellow of the starlings' beak stand out. Nice composition.

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  10. Aguilar, thank you very much. And Hilke, thanks for appreciating the finer points of the image.

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  11. Everyday is a FLYday to our beautiful winged friends. May their paths be safe and fair winds stay behind them.
    ♥R

    FusunA
    November 11, 2011 04:24 PM

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  12. Breath taking, I love it ~R~

    M. C. Sears
    November 11, 2011 06:17 PM

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  13. A Simple Shutterbug (OS)November 14, 2011 at 10:54 AM

    Wow, great shot, we see all of those birds in MD, but not usually in such large quantities.

    A Simple Shutterbug
    November 12, 2011 07:24 AM

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  14. Hello all, sorry for the delayed thank you's. I've been out of town, and as always, generally out to lunch. I agree, FusunA, everyday is flyday for lucky birds, us included. M.C. Sear, thank you for the compliment.. A Silmple Shutterbug, and thank you, too! You all makes me feel great with the positive regard. The rates are much appreciated, too.

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  15. makes my breath catch, the elation this photo creates. look at that handsome brown head in the background. the pattern of the starling's wing, and the redwings, well.

    a friend of mine once had a quintessential photo of a redwing and yellow-headed. the focus was the redwing, but in the foreground, she somehow did not even see it, was a yellow-headed blackbird getting "squeezed out" by the redwing, which is just what they do.

    jane smithie
    November 12, 2011 08:13 AM

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  16. Chrissie Prissie (OS)November 14, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    So much energy... captured.

    Chrissie Pissie
    November 12, 2011 10:48 AM

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  17. Anne Camille Jongleux (OS)November 14, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    Beautiful photograph!

    Anne Camille Jongleux
    November 13, 2011 12:33 AM

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  18. Jane, odd you would bring up the Yellow-headed Blackbird, because in this flock in other shots I have of them feeding on the ground is a Yellow-headed, a single one in that whole crowd. It was doubley wonderful as it was my first. Thanks for the read, rate and comment. Chrissie and Anne, thank you for viewing, rating and complimenting my work. It ensures that I'll keep working to get better at it and to present interesting images.

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  19. What a fantastic sight Robin, birds amaze me with their flight patterns and how they seem to know exactly in which direction and where to go. Well caught!

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