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.
Buy Prints / Greeting Cards
-
Recent Posts
- Turkey Vulture With An Alligator Gar
- My First Ruby-throated Hummingbird For 2013
- Pied-billed Grebe Eating Crayfish
- Blue-winged Teal At The Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge
- Pole Dancing Fox Squirrel
- Great Blue Heron Gulps Down A Large Fish
- An Opossum Welcoming Me Home
- Antelope Island Jack Rabbit
- Wildlife Gallery
- A Few Birds At Antelope Island
Top Posts
Categories
Usage
The images displayed on this Photo Blog may be used for any non-commercial purpose after obtaining my permission.
If you have interest in licensing any of my photos for commercial purposes, or would like to discuss custom prints and/or services, please CONTACT ME.
© 2013 Steve Creek
All Rights ReservedSearch
-
9 Comments
I had no idea that birds did this. I had to send this one around at the office. Thats amazing!
Thanks son! I had a friend that thought the mother bird was feeding her young a marshmallow.
Is this the same nest that the Scissortail was tending?
(Great pictures all around, btw.)
It is not the same, Art. By the time I got back to the others they were gone.
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)
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
Really nice clean images again Steve – I look to see your new stuff most days. Inspirational!
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.
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
[...] 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 [...]