Rusty Blackbirds are uncommon and nest in spruce trees near bogs within boreal forests. The migrant that we saw today was travelling with a mixed flock of Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles.



Other birds:































Species list (for 8 am and 11:30): red-necked grebe, great blue heron, great egret, double-crested cormorant, mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, gadwall, wood duck, American wigeon, ring-billed gull, herring gull, mourning dove, belted kingfisher, rock pigeon, downy woodpecker, blue jay, black-capped chickadee, gray catbird, American robin, European starling, yellow-rumped warbler, northern parula, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, rusty blackbird, common grackle, northern cardinal, white-throated sparrow, song sparrow. (30 species)
In all of my years of birdwatching, this was the first time I ever ever seen a Red-winged Blackbird take food directly from a hand:

11:30 group:

NATURE POETRY
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
So the little moments,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of Eternity. – Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney (1823–1908)
Miles Hearn