Red-winged Blackbird
I've seen these birds all over the country, but the birds below were photographed at or near Lake Cuyamaca in the Cuyamaca Mountains (Images 1 through 11), and at the Salton Sea, California (Image 12). Images 13 and 14 were taken at Lindo Lake in Lakeside, California.
Brewer's Blackbird
One of the "parking lot birds", but sometimes seen in nice NATURAL places, too. Images 1-4 are from Webb Lake Park in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego County, California, which is an artificial habitat but allows the birds to breed. The remaining images are from Lake Cuyamaca, California. The last four images of males show a leucistic male seen foraging near the edge of a flock of "normal" blackbirds at the lake. The last four are of females.
Blackbird Flocks (when species are mixed or not easily identified)
This is a small murmuration of blackbirds in the vicinity of Ramona, California, photographed near dusk in December.
Brown-headed Cowbird
Images 1 and 2 show a male and a female photographed at Lake Cuyamaca, California. Image 3 was taken in spring in the Cuyamaca Mountains.
Great-tailed Grackle
This species has moved up into the United States from its more southerly range in the past decades, and it is extremely abundant in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Thousands congregate in cities, forming impressive flocks in unlikely locations such as road intersections in the evenings. Image 6 here is of a mere 20 male grackles on a wire near Edinburg, Texas. Images 7 and 8 are of female grackles at South Padre Island, Texas. Images 1 through 5 and 9 through 15 were taken at Lindo Lake, Lakeside, California, an easy place to observe this species. The last 2 images were taken at Webb Lake Park in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego County, California, a man-made habitat, but supportive of at least attempted grackle breeding.
Bullock's Oriole
A beautiful seasonal visitor to California, all images below are from the Cuyamaca Mountains, California. The male in the last image appears to be "bill-tilting, an agonistic behavior that I have seen males perform near other males. Images 13 and 14 are of fledglings. Image 16 shows males following a late-season snowstorm.
Altamira Oriole
A southern Texas specialty within the U.S., the species is nonmigratory and easily observed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Images 1 and 2 are from the Salineño Wildlife Preserve, with the hanging nest being a likely leftover from the previous year's breeding season (as this one was photographed in winter). Image 3 is from the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas.
Western Meadowlark
Image 1 was taken along Rangeland Road in Ramona, California, a great place to see raptors and grassland bird species. Image 2 was of a bird singing from a very high perch, atop some pine trees in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in California.
