Bird of the Day: Red-winged Blackbird in the Mini-wilderness

Back to a "normal" life after three straight weekends on the road. I've had a tiny bit more time to wander the outer reaches of the west campus and "mini-wilderness". With the beginning of the autumn season, more birds have been showing up. Today's guest is a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) roosting on the tree above the pond in the mini-wilderness. Although there is a nice cattail thicket by the pond, it's been several months since I've seen any Red-wings on campus.

I've found it difficult to photograph the Red-winged Blackbirds. Their absolute black color trips up the auto-focus on my camera, and they tend to be very active and a little restive if I get too close. This one was being cooperative, mainly because I was probably 200-300 feet away using my most extreme zoom!