She's Back

The leucistic female yellow-headed blackbird that visited the yard last year is back. The photo on the left is her appearance this week. On the right, her photo from May 15, 2012.

Leucistic Yellow-Headed Blackbird

"Leucistic" refers to the white patches.

They're Back to Decimate the Feeders

I was just this week wondering if the yellow-headed blackbirds would be back...and they showed up this morning. They're loud, clownish, showy and hungry. They can clean out the feeders faster than squirrels.

One of the "teenager" yellow-headed blackbirds feeding himself. Mom was nearby, and he was begging, but she made him get his own food :)

They're Back! Yellow-Headed Blackbirds

I actually heard them before I saw them this year. Yellow-headed blackbirds love to raid the bird feeders each spring. They're bright, showy and not skittish. And they make a loud, rusty call that can't be missed.

Female Yellow-Headed Blackbird

Here's a female yellow-headed blackbird. Her coloring is not as bright and solid as the male, but she is just as greedy at the bird feeders. Twenty pounds of bird seed in a week and blackbirds of all sorts ate most of it. I hope they move along soon!

New Yard Resident

These guys have been giving our yard a tropical flavor. They're common yellow-headed blackbirds. This is the first year I've ever seen them in our yard - and they can't be missed. They're loud, and big, and bright. We also have red wing blackbirds and Brewer's blackbirds hanging around.