Yellow-headed Blackbird - 17 Jun 2022


After dropping Robin off at the Glass Pavilion I headed down to Howard Marsh for a morning walk. It was warm and breezy this morning, but temps were significantly lower than yesterday's. 

Upon arrival to Howard Marsh Metropark I was happy to hear the "Dik-Dik-Dzzzzz" of several Dickcissels singing from the prairie fields just west of the large ponds at the entrance to the park. Birds were perched on tall plants out of camera range.

As I pulled into the parking lot a Yellow-headed Blackbird was foraging in the grass just a few dozen feet away. I didn't have far to walk to get some pics of the striking male.








Out to the east of the parking lot I could hear several Black-necked Stilts calling calling from the marsh, but could not locate them behind the cattails 

As I walked toward the Metzger Marsh causeway I heard another Yellow-headed Blackbird calling from a nearby pond. A singing Gray Catbird refused to show from the dense hedges lining the causeway. A family of Trumpeter Swans were more cooperative.

I returned to the car, stopping only to try to photograph a pair of Black Saddlebags that were flying while in the throws of a mating connection. 


While pulling out of the lot and driving out I spotted the blackbird again, so I swung around to try to get a few pics with the Sun behind me. 




While doing so I couldn't resist a few pics of several baby Killdeer foraging just a few feet away.



I would pause near the exit just long enough to listen to the Dickcissels singing while a farmer mowed the grass nearby.

Howard Marsh Metropark, Lucas, Ohio, US
Jun 17, 2022 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
6 species

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  12
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  3
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)  2
Dickcissel (Spiza americana)  3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S159565582

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)