A Mothers Work Is Never Done (Red-winged Blackbird)

Red-winged Blackbird Removing Waste-2781

Red-winged Blackbird Removing Waste-2588

Red-winged Blackbird Keeping Young Cool-2803

The first two photos show the mother Red-winged Blackbird removing waste from the butt of her young (fecal sac). The third photo shows her giving her young some shade with her body and wings.

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9 Comments

  1. Posted June 9, 2009 at 8:25 am by Adam Creek | Permalink

    I had no idea that birds did this. I had to send this one around at the office. Thats amazing!

  2. Posted June 9, 2009 at 8:33 am by Steve Creek | Permalink

    Thanks son! I had a friend that thought the mother bird was feeding her young a marshmallow.

  3. Posted June 9, 2009 at 10:00 am by Art D | Permalink

    Is this the same nest that the Scissortail was tending?
    (Great pictures all around, btw.)

  4. Posted June 9, 2009 at 10:31 am by Steve Creek | Permalink

    It is not the same, Art. By the time I got back to the others they were gone.

  5. Posted June 9, 2009 at 10:34 am by AnnRan | Permalink

    The waste is called a “fecal sac”. Mother (and probably father?) birds remove it from the nest – usually carrying it a distance away so predators are not alerted by the presence of the waste near the nest.

    Marvelous photos, BTW, Steve! Just found your site via Twitter (I’m @AnnRan5)

  6. Posted June 9, 2009 at 12:37 pm by judi king | Permalink

    Your photos amaze me more everyday, and the past few days have been so sweet and sensitive. Never knew birds cleaned their young like this, thought it was indigenous to mammals. How do you get above the nest to get such great shots. Never stop what you do, you bring joy to so many. Judi K

  7. Posted June 9, 2009 at 3:18 pm by David Boag | Permalink

    Really nice clean images again Steve – I look to see your new stuff most days. Inspirational!

  8. Posted June 9, 2009 at 3:44 pm by Jeff Creek | Permalink

    That is amazing, never knew birds did that. Like the other comments these are great shots and I am glad you were able to get them ( don’t know how you are always in the right spot at the right time) keep it up.

  9. Posted May 9, 2010 at 6:56 pm by Julie G. (hummingbird2) | Permalink

    This is a most splendid series … especially on Mother’s Day. Your photos of wildlife always touch the heart. Beautiful! Thank you for sharing your magnificent photos with us.

One Trackback

  1. By Most Tweeted Articles by Birding Experts on May 10, 2010 at 9:00 am

    [...] Lizard. … 5 Tweets A Little Piece of Me: Saturday Sunshine 4 Tweets A Mothers Work Is Never Done (Red-winged Blackbird) The first two photos show the mother Red-winged Blackbird removing waste from the butt of her [...]

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