A female yellow-headed blackbird was seen at close range at the boardwalk at Lake Abrams in Big Creek Reservation this morning. There was a birdwalk by the Cleveland Metroparks to see the blackbirds rise up out of the marsh at 7 am. It was fantastic to see so many birds. Some would perch in the trees and in the marsh nearby. We were able to ID some rusty blackbirds, as well. 

The female yellow-headed blackbird perched on the south side of the boardwalk on top of a cattail.  Richard Moore initially spotted it and thought it might be a female red-winged blackbird as they weren't very common. But, the clear bright yellow throat told us that it was a yellow-headed blackbird.

Naturalist Joe Higgins from the West Creek Watershed Stewardship Center who was leading the birdwalk confirmed the ID with binoculars.

After the birdwalk some of us kept birding. We heard a common yellowthroat at the east end of the boardwalk. One birder saw it. There were at least three eastern phoebes calling and a couple of swamp sparrows in the same area. More vocal phoebes and some golden-crowned kinglets were down the path in the woods all the way to the apartments and businesses.

Some of us drove to the Rocky River Nature Center after that for the bird banding session. We go to see an Eastern Phoebe up-close that was caught in the nets. The nets were set up near the feeders which were close to the river where the phoebes were trying to catch insects.

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