Friday, June 20, 2014,

This is a male Red-winged Blackbird bringing home a little something for the kids. Male Red-wings often help out when it comes to feeding their young. They’re also very protective of their nesting areas, which is probably how I managed to get this shot. I was exiting Avalon along the boardwalk that serves as Avalon’s main entrance when I realized that this guy was cursing at me. Joe Kayaker is growing deaf but even I can recognize cuss words. It was obvious that he was attempting to ward me off from his and his mate’s nest. I never looked for his nest; instead I tried to capture a shot of him as he was flitting amongst the branches above me, cursing all the while. And such wonderful curses they were. Birds have been cursing at potential predators for perhaps as many as 150 million years. This has given them plenty of time to be quite creative with language and as a result, they come can come up with some real zingers. I had no comebacks so I settled for trying to get a shot of this  guy as he jumped from branch to branch. I took this pic was taken from just four feet above my head. This Daddy had no fear of me. And despite of all of his cussing and threatening gestures, he never released hold of the caterpillar that he had captured for his nestlings. His eye was on the prize the whole time. Good going Mr. Red-wing. Keep up the good fight. JK