Brewer’s Blackbird at Sequoia and Kings Canyon

            Early one April, I found myself in Long Meadow, in Sequoia National Park. At 7,200 feet, the meadow was covered with snow, but there were a number of open patches of brown, moist turf amid the wide Sierran expanse. Along one edge of the meadow, a tall pine was perched, and in this pine, a flock of Brewer’s Blackbirds resided. They foraged along the snowy edges of the ground, visited the bog at one end of the meadow, and caterwauled with their eerily squeaky calls. They were no doubt establishing pair bonds and getting ready for the upcoming nesting season, but they were willing to share the meadow with me and a few American Robins.

            Two days later, after looking across the south fork of the Kings River at the snow-covered high peaks of the Sierra Nevada, I descended into the charming hamlet of Hume Lake—and there were those Brewer’s Blackbirds again. Huddled together in a grassy area by the side of the lake, the blackbirds strutted around with a few Brown-headed Cowbirds mixed in with the flock—no doubt to later lay their eggs in the blackbirds’ nests. Out on the lake, a few Mallards and American Coots were taking advantage of the wetlands, while the American Robin, Common Raven, and Steller’s Jay shared the shoreline with the blackbirds and the cowbirds.

            Two days after that, I had just taken a late-afternoon walk around Azalea Campground and returned to Grant Grove Village in Kings Canyon National Park, when what did I see but those Brewer’s Blackbirds again—this time cavorting along the side of the parking area next to the gift shop and the market. I stalked one of these male blackbirds along the asphalt for a few minutes and managed to snap off a neat photo showing his iridescent purple head and the greenish tint of his back.

            But I marveled at the versatility of this bird, and how it seems almost casual around humans. At one point, I followed my Brewer’s Blackbird to a porch area and he hid behind a post. I poked my head around the post, and there he was, waiting to greet me—playing a game of hide-and-seek.

            I’m glad I captured his image with my digital camera.