Picture of the day - April 28, 2008

A redwinged blackbird chasing a much larger blue heron

Photo courtesy of Winston Rockwell. Today's picture by frequent contributor Winston Rockwell offers an interesting bit of insight into the ways of our feathered friends, and the following is his intriguing story behind the image: "Male redwinged blackbirds are extremely protective, and they are absolutely fearless when defending their nests. They will routinely harass and drive off much larger birds if they feel any threat to the safety of their mates or the eggs. While visiting a park near my home this afternoon, I got to witness first-hand just how aggressive and fearless these little birds really are. A great blue heron had apparently gotten too close to a blackbird's nest, and the male, after harassing the heron by "buzzing" its head and bouncing on its back as it waded among the reeds, succeeded in getting the much larger bird to take flight. The redwing then followed, right on the heron's tail - literally! - until the great blue was safely away from the nest. The light was atrocious - a gray, overcast afternoon - but I managed to capture a sequence of 4 frames as the redwing chased the heron across the lagoon. This one is perhaps the best, showing how closely the redwing pursued the much larger heron. Amazingly, the blackbird sometimes even bumped into the heron from behind in flight, to speed it on its way! Once the redwing saw that the danger is past, it veers off and returns to its nesting area in the dead cattails along the shore."  --Winston Rockwell   Visitor Comments... Name: Doug Thomson Town: Concord, NC Awesome picture of nature in action. I like to look at action shots just to see if anything else is "accidentally" caught in the background. This one has it. Look on the log in the background, there is a turtle sitting on the log! You'll can also see the turtle's reflection in the water. In the reflection, it looks like the turtle's neck appears to be stretched skyward as if it is enjoying the "the chase".   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!                                 Place the "Picture of the Day" on your website, for free! Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"