Encounter With a Baby Blackbird

Denise D. Greaves

In the late spring and summer we frequently visit a runoff pond in northwestern Cranston, Rhode Island, that supports a varied population of pond-loving dragonflies. It is roughly L-shaped and not very large. I can easily walk around it at a comfortable pace in about three minutes. My husband Sheldon has taken more exact measurements and found that the pond is about 80 meters (260 feet) on its long side.

On the afternoon of 26 June 2005, I had just shot a photo of a twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella) near the top of the L and was feeling good, because, even though the skimmer had only perched for about a second, I suspected I had gotten a good photo. I was walking around the pond slowly, actually a few meters from the pond itself so as not to trample the foliage, when I saw a clump of cattails near the water's edge. I stopped to look more closely in case there were any dragonfly exuviae to be had. (I've collected a few exuviae which I plan to identify.)

Suddenly I noticed that a couple of nearby red-winged blackbirds were making much more noise than before, and I peered more closely into the foliage near the edge of the pond. I spied what looked like a clump of feathers and assumed I had found a bird nest, so I carefully got close enough to get a better look.

Suddenly I found myself staring into two beady eyes beneath a punk hairdo. It was obviously a baby bird, but my first thought was that I've got some learning to do. I had never before seen a baby bird away from its nest, except for baby ducks and geese and the like that follow their parents around the pond. Here was a healthy baby bird perched in the foliage. (Later we ascertained it could fly a little— I saw it fly a couple of yards.)

Anyway, I snapped a few still shots, trying to speak gently and not alarm the little creature. I was working at the limit of my lens's focal range, which is about 1.5 meters (5 feet). Next, I retrieved the video camera from Sheldon, which allowed me to get even closer. I sat and talked to the young beastie some more, and soon it started looking around and chirping like it was more relaxed. Or maybe it was calling for the cavalry. Anyway, it seemed more at ease, and that's when I started rolling video. (You can see a video clip here.) I was delighted to find so cooperative a subject that would sit and put on a charming performance.

We later confirmed the bird's identity as a red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) by comparing it with photos on the web, since our bird books didn't have photographs of juveniles. We think it is a female, because male blackbirds have a red mark on their shoulders even as youngsters.

My still camera was the body of an old screw-mount Pentax SLR equipped with an Asanuma brand 90-230 mm zoom lens. I used 200 speed Kodak color print film. The video camera is a Panasonic Model PV-DV 203D palmcorder.

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