I was lucky enough to spend a few days at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge this week. (I just have the best wife!) Even though it was a slow afternoon for my intended species (Black Crowned Night Herons) I was given a front row seat to an amazing show put on by what we consider a very ordinary run of the mill bird. I’m talking about the female Red Wing Blackbird. Nobody pays much attention to them. They’re drab in color compared to the male of the species so they kind of fly under the radar. (pun intended!) She kept flying from the bushes on the side of the wetland out to the middle of the swamp. Back and forth, back and forth. I finally figured out what she was doing. She was collecting water bugs to feed to her little ones on shore! But it was how she did it that had me intrigued.
Balancing act…
Look Ma, no hands!!!
She would fly down as close to the water as she could without ending up in the water. She would even try to balance on one foot all the while searching for the bugs under a thin layer of pond yuck.
Maybe a little too far????
She would quickly swipe for the bug while stretching as far as she could, even reaching out on one foot!
Back safe on the branch, now to go feed the kids!!
Once she had the bug, she would dart over to the nest, drop off the morsel and start all over again. And the remarkable thing is she did this for 3 hours straight!!! She was still at it when I left!
Blackbirds will never be considered a favorite of mine but I now have a much greater respect for them! If you can sit still long enough Nature will sometimes reveal some of her interesting secrets. You just need patience…. More to come from my 3 days there….