The forecast for today and tomorrow – and possibly Tuesday – is for snow, possibly as much as a foot. I filled the feeders this morning before I took my shower; by the time we got home from church is was snowing pretty hard, and The Squire refilled them. We sat in the den watching the birds.
Suddenly, this bird, which neither of us had ever seen before, sailed in and began eating. The Squire took several quick photos with his phone and we searched the Birds of Maryland site, but we couldn’t identify it, so he sent off a snap to the Maryland Ornithological Society. We were really surprised to get an answer almost immediately.
This is a yellow-headed Blackbird, and it is native to the Midwest. If you draw a line from the lower right corner of Michigan to the lower right corner of New Mexico, you have a fairly good idea of the little fellow’s Easternmost range. What he was doing this far east is anybody’s guess. These birds are also common in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, so at least he’s used to the snow.
It’s not the world’s sharpest picture, but it was taken with a cell phone, through three panes of glass, and we were fortunate to get it before he flew away.
thisendoftheswamp 
You are the second person to post blog on blackbirds. Must be the season for blackbirds 🙂
It might be Blackbird Season, but this fellow was half a continent away from his home.
Thanks for sharing.
Nice blog