Snow turns my yard into a blank canvas. Every bird that steps out into the open stands out, even the quiet, brown ones that usually blend into winter grass.
This female Red-winged Blackbird gave me a clean, simple snow scene that I like.
Wildlife Notes
Female Red-winged Blackbirds don’t look anything like the red-shouldered males. They show up as brown, heavily streaked birds, and they can fool you at first glance, especially on the ground in winter. In fact, females are sometimes confused with streaked sparrows, which is one reason I like photographing them from more than one angle.
After a snow, birds have one job, find food fast. Ground-feeders work the edges of feeder areas, scratch through thin spots, and pick at anything exposed on top of the snow. When I watch them in my yard, I notice a steady rhythm of short steps, quick pecks, then a pause to scan.
These blackbirds also tend to show up in groups during colder months. Even when I only photograph one bird, I usually have more nearby, moving through the same feeding zone.
Related Snowy Yard Bird Posts
This post is part of the same run of snowy yard birds I photographed over the past few days:
- First Snow, First Visitors: Dark-eyed Juncos in My Arkansas Yard
- American Goldfinch at My Feeder After Arkansas Snow
- Harris’s Sparrow Feeding in Fresh Arkansas Snow
- Female Northern Cardinal in Fresh Snow, Arkansas Yard
- Male Northern Cardinal in Fresh Snow in My Arkansas Yard
- Red-bellied Woodpecker on Suet After an Arkansas Snow
- Downy Woodpecker on a Suet Log After an Arkansas Snow
Photography Notes
I shot these from my deck with a beanbag on the rail. That setup is quick, stable, and perfect for long focal lengths when birds appear with no warning.
Camera and settings
- Camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II
- Lens: Canon RF 200–800mm F6.3–9 IS USM
- Focal length: 800mm
- Aperture: f/10
- Shutter speed: 1/2500 second
- ISO: 4000
- Exposure compensation: +2
- Support: Beanbag on deck rail
Why these settings worked
- 1/2500 froze small movements and head turns.
- +2 exposure compensation kept the snow bright and clean.
- ISO 4000 supported the fast shutter speed in winter light.
- The beanbag helped me stay sharp at 800mm.
Closing
I never get tired of how a snow day changes the yard. It strips the scene down to shape and pattern, and it makes even familiar birds feel new. This female Red-winged Blackbird was a perfect fit for that quiet winter mood.