Red-winged Blackbirds: Another Generation

These little birds are fearlessly territorial and going around the pond in the late evening is just asking for a confrontation. This one saw me coming and waited to make me leave. I took the first picture from my yard over the fence, then went through the gate to the pond and walked back and forth trying to get a good view of his wings away from the glare of the setting sun. He walked back and forth with me and yelled the whole time. The photos aren't very good because the bird is beautiful, especially when he (the females are an unimpressive tan) displays the two bright red eyeball looking marks on his dark black wings. Sometimes one will come right up to us. We never bother them and by the end of the season when we are working in the area the most, they will bring the young birds around us with no problem. It's neat to watch them (always the males) train the young ones to hunt.