Black Birds at Marl Bed Flats, 4/25/2014

Marl Bed Flats
Bobolink
Not all black birds are blackbirds, and not all blackbirds are black. This morning at Marl Bed Flats I saw lots of black birds, and some of them were blackbirds. My favorite blackbird, though, was only partly black, and it's not even called a blackbird; it's called a Bobolink. Bobolinks are blackbirds, and the males are mostly black, but the females aren't. I like the males, though, not so much because they are black blackbirds but because they just plain look funky. It looks like they have their bills on the wrong side of their head--very strange looking to me.  They come though Central Florida usually in late April or early May. This is the earliest I've found them here, though I don't think these are particularly early.

Marl Bed Flats
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlarks are blackbirds that aren't really black birds--at least they're mostly not black.  But they are very fun.  This one grabbed a tasty morsel, a spider, I think, and I believe it's headed to a nest.

Marl Bed Flats
Eastern Meadowlark
And then there are all those Red-winged Blackbirds; there are always many of them here.  They kind of fit the profile--a blackbird that's a black bird, save for their shoulders.

Marl Bed Flats
Red-winged Blackbird
A couple shorebirds can also be partly black birds while not being blackbirds.  There are 45+ Black-necked Stilts at Marl Bed Flats. Lately each time I visit I see more of them, which is a good sign that they'll breed here.  We can always hope.

Marl Bed Flats
Black-necked Stilts
During the last couple weeks every time I've visited here I've seen fewer species.  Lot's of birds are moving north. But it's also see the migrants, like the Bobolinks, passing through. It keeps one of my favorite places in Seminole County interesting.

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