Here’s a couple pics of one of my favorite birds to photograph in North Carolina, the Red winged Blackbird.
I saw a few of them while birding at Lake Betz in Morrisville NC yesterday and Pungo Lake in Pantego NC last month.

The first photograph is of a beautiful female hunting for insects at Lake Betz. The second photo shown below is a male Red winged Blackbird at Pungo Lake. Aren’t they sharp looking birds?
Just lovely!

During the summer breeding season, male Red winged Blackbirds become aggressively territorial.
When singing to defend his territory or to attract a female, the male fluffs those bright red epaulettes and half-spreads his wings to show off those red and yellow feathers.
That bright splash of yellow and red color on their wings is outrageously beautiful when set against a backdrop of blue sky!

Red-winged Blackbirds nest in loose colonies, with a male attracting up to 15 females to nest within his home turf.
He vigorously protects his territory against all intruders, be it on four feet or two.
They’ve even been known to swoop in to attack people on occasion when we come a bit too close to their nests for their liking!

Knowing this, I was glad to be photographing these lovely birds on my zoom lens from a good distance away, lol!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds