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| Song Birds by Roger Tory Peterson |
When I was a child, I had a picture book about birds (not this one, probably the Little Golden Book of Birds). I continue to be especially fond of the birds that were depicted there, including the Red-winged Blackbird, the Red-headed Woodpecker, the Scarlet Tanager, the Bluebird, and the Baltimore Oriole. I loved their names, as well as the images, and when I started to be a birder, I loved discovering the real birds. Even now, every spring I’m very happy when I hear these blackbirds sing — a sure sign of the changing seasons.
Earlier this week on a walk, we saw only one of them, lurking in the bushes, but we heard quite a few of them singing their beautiful trilling song. I suspect that they returned from the South a while ago, but I haven’t been birding here recently. To celebrate the return of these spring singers, I looked for some art work depicting them.
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Illustration by Roger Tory Peterson
highlighting the field mark: the bird’s red wing patch. |
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| 19th Century Print from the Library of Congress |
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| Illustration from Audubon's famous book of American birds. |
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| 1987 US Postage Stamp |
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| Our first sighting of a Red-winged Blackbird in 2021 was at the beginning of March. |
11 comments:
No red winged blackbirds for me yet. I had a Little GOlden book of birds, and in fact, I loved it so much that when I found one at a used bookstore several years ago I had to pick it up to have again. Happy end of the month. hugs-Erika
Just responding to your comment on my blog post Mae. I guess I need to clarify. I've used cake mixes before and even altered them, but this is the first time I've ever used a KIng Arthur Flour one. It definitely needed more ingredients than just egg and oil as so many mixes call for, and I was curious how it tasted compared to homemade since it used butter. And I will dig out that book and take some photos to post. It won't be for probably a week to a week and a half though as I am heading out next week for a few days. I guess I was lucky as I found this one for $3 which was worth it to me.
Hello,
I love the sounds of the Red-winged Blackbirds. I have seen them on my deck and feeders in early March. Pretty images, I like that stamp. Take care, have a happy day!
Loving all these photos, Mae. I saw the most beautiful redwing the other day and I knew spring was really here -- despite some elements to the contrary! They're really beautiful!
Lovely bird photos. I had a swarm of green parakeets in the tree behind the house this morning. They are not native birds, but we have a huge colony here in the town. Valerie
One of the signature sounds of spring, and one that still thrills me to my core, is the song of the first Red-winged Blackbird singing from the marsh. It stirs something very fundamental in me. I have a little book called, "Birds A Guide to the Most Familiar American Birds". It is a Golden Nature Guide by Herbert S. Zimm. It was published in 1956. If this is the book you are referring to, email me your address and I will send it to you. David
Did I say it is a Golden Nature Guide?
Hello,
Hearing the birds singing in the spring is a happy sound. The Red-winged Blackbird has a lovely sound, one of my favorites. I loved this post and the photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
We have them here year round and they are always at the little pond near my house. They sure are beautiful. Love these old books and illustrations.
No RWBBs for us yet... I think it's too windy and too open out here. Plenty of starlings, though, building nests in our gutters. Plenty of morning twittering. Our local woodchuck, though, races across the field with shanks of grass in its mouth for refurbishing its nest. And the deer have been behaving mighty randy lately. Someone thinks spring is nearly upon us.
They're really great looking birds. Glad to hear that they're singing again.
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