davidsnyder24's Identifications

The bird was by Lake Washington, entirely black aside from spots of red on the side of its wings up near its breast. It did not allow me to get close enough to get a decent picture, eventually flying away.

A medium height plant, the entire stalk covered in fine, small thorns, with branches of groups of five leaves coming off relatively frequently, with two pairs showing opposite branching with one leaf at the very tip of the stem. I could see no berries or flowers at this point.