Cattails & Blackbirds

Sometimes the backdrop for a photo is as pleasing as the actual subject. I feel that way about these photos of a female Red-winged blackbird that flew into the stand of cattails near the west end of our pond.

Cattails are synonymous to swampy wetlands. Early season lemon-green shoots announce the beginning of Spring then eventually fade to sedge-brown, twisted leaves that embrace the cocoa colored flower spikes that truly appear more “cat tail” than blossom. The dried flowers slowly disperses their seeds during winter’s wrath, and springtime’s blustering winds. I have seen birds tugging the spent cattail fibers from it’s stalk to line their nests that cradle their precious eggs.

I love the way that this lovely bird clings to the mature cattails as she preens her new feathers – well readied for the cold weather of winter.