ML124114631

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Found where water empties into river from lake creek wetland. I glimpsed a Blackbird drop into this spot as I was standing near the rivers edge. I then pished and the bird flew out to the river bank calling and landed briefly on the river bank then willow before returning into the deep willow here. I saw a large Blackbird with a dark rusty cap and especially rusty colored feathers on the back. Wings were a mix of deep rusty and darker near-black. I saw a dark eyeline against a lighter brown face. It's call was like other Blackbirds but louder and probably harder. I quickly lost it and only re found it later a short distance away along the river when a prairie falcon flushed it. After being flushed it sat atop a small juniper before flying high to the east probably past the apartments. Perched at this distance it really showed the contrast between rusty cap and darker upperparts ( back was not seen this time). This is the second rusty Blackbird I've seen this fall in Eagle County. The other was a female in nearby Minturn in similar habitat along the river. Poor photo attached showing dark cap and eye patch with contrasting supercillium. EDIT: after comparing what I saw this morning with the female rusty blackbird I saw at nearby Minturn on October 19, 2018 I believe today's bird to be a different rusty Blackbird based on how overall dark today's bird was with its very contrasting rusty back (I was probably also seeing rusty in the wings but the back stood out most during my brief views).

Technical information

Model

iPhone SE

Lens

iPhone SE back camera 4.15mm f/2.2

ISO

25

Focal length

4.2 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/2.2

Shutter speed

1/214 sec

Dimensions

1067 pixels x 800 pixels

Original file size

277.67 KB