Red-winged blackbirds indicate return of spring
Photos by DON BARTLING Male Red-Winged Blackbirds spend much of the breeding season sitting on a perch overlooking their territory and singing their hearts out trying to attract any female in the area.
Photo by DON BARTLING It is a sure sign of Spring when Red-Winged Blackbirds return to the marshes.
As we enjoy spring, one of the most abundant birds across Boundary County — and one of the most boldly colored — the red-winged blackbird is a familiar sign atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff-up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. Their early and tumbling songs are happy indication of the return of spring.
Which migrating birds can we expect to see first in the spring? It depends upon the weather. March brings us robins ready to nest and some bluebirds. Most often we see red-winged blackbird males furiously displaying, telling the other males “this territory is mine.” The females generally won’t be back for a couple of weeks after the males arrive. As lakes and rivers begin to thaw, great blue herons will return.
Male red-winged blackbirds fiercely defend their territories during the breeding season, spending more than a quarter of daylight hours in territory defense. He chases other males out of the territory and attacks nest predators, sometimes going after much larger animals, including horses and people.
You can find red-winged blackbirds in breeding season by visiting cattail marshes and other wetlands, or simply by watching telephone wires on a drive through the country. Where there’s standing water and vegetation, red-winged blackbirds are likely to be one of the most common birds you see and hear. Listen for the male’s “conk-la-lee” song.
The female red-winged blackbirds will nest near each other, in part due to the lack of available nesting sites in many areas and the fact that they use wet vegetation to make their nests.
In addition to wet vegetation, female red-winged blackbirds will make their nests from nearby grasses. Unlike most birds, their cup-shaped nests are low and near to the ground. It’s rare to find a red-winged blackbird nest that is higher up than 15 feet, and the nests are usually much closer to the ground than that.
The female lays only three to four eggs. It will take up to two weeks for the female red-winged blackbirds to incubate the eggs, and then less than two weeks later the fledglings will leave the nest. The young birds may join non-breeding flocks as the female starts a second brood.
Red-winged blackbirds eat seeds, insects and even suet from your bird feeders. If you live near water and want to attract red-winged blackbirds, offer seeds and suet in early spring and late fall. Seeing red-winged blackbirds eating at your bird feeders is a real treat for birdwatchers.
The oldest recorded red-winged blackbird lived to be 15 years, 9 month old.
Winter is finally over and spring is here so plan a walk or ride in the countryside and enjoy the beauty of Boundary County.