Rusty Blackbird at Yeager Hollow Pond by Anna Fasoli

I am back in the states after a quick trip to the Azores (where I successfully found my target bird, the Azores Bullfinch). I’ll have more posts up about my trip soon.

This evening, Alex and I made a trip out to Yeager Hollow Pond where a Marsh Wren was found by Alex and his friends Nate Fronk and Josh Lefever on October 9. Sparrows were very active despite the cold temperatures; we estimated about 40 Song Sparrows and about half as many Swamp Sparrows, in addition to two White-crowned Sparrows and two Lincoln’s Sparrows. The Marsh Wren never made an appearance. While trying to get better looks at a Lincoln’s Sparrow, a blackbird flew up out of the nearby corn field and began calling. This is what we saw:

Rusty Blackbird

We could see that the bird was a Rusty Blackbird, but didn’t have a great look at it. We kept busy with sparrows for awhile. Eventually the Rusty Blackbird reappeared at very close range and I was able to get some good photos that showed its plumage very well and helped us ID it as an adult female in nonbreeding plumage.