Some of the red-winged blackbirds' young have hatched, as evidenced by the beakful of insects of this female red-wing. She and her mate were displaying some anxiety when I walked a portion of the trail this morning, so obviously they had hatchlings nearby. I've yet to figure out how they catch more than one insect at a time.
The marsh is a busy - and noisy - place these days, with birdsong sounding from every corner and nesting activity on the upswing. This female red-winged blackbird was scouting for nesting material in the smaller marshy area alongside the railbed yesterday morning. She would pick up pieces like the one here, then discard them and go looking for another.
Finally, I saw my first female red-winged blackbird at the marsh on Wednesday, the 20th. That's five weeks from the day I saw the first male. The males have already set up their territories, now the mate selection will begin. Males may have a 'harem' of several mates within their territories (females can breed in their first year, while males often don't until their second year). Nesting will begin in May.
The marsh rang with birdsong this morning, particularly from the song sparrows and the red-winged blackbirds. The tips of many of the trees sported one or the other of the songsters. I caught this male red-wing atop a spruce tree just as he uttered his distinctive call.
I have marked spring for years by the first sighting of the Red-winged Blackbird. This fellow was right on the mark, time-wise, and I was so glad he held still long enough this morning for me to get a shot for the blog. We'll be seeing a lot of him and his buddies in the days and weeks to come, followed in a few weeks' time by their mates.
Just as I was leaving the marsh yesterday, I heard what I believed to be Red-winged Blackbirds in a cattail stand. I approached through the woods and got a few shots of them pulling the heads apart to get at the seeds. The buff-colored edges of the feathers are quite evident on this male.
Just as I was on my way out of the marsh this morning, two male Red-winged Blackbirds flew into a dead willow shrub. I still hear or see the occasional one feeding in the phragmites. The buff-colored edges on some of this fellow's feathers can just be made out.
It was foggy and overcast this morning, but I upped the ISO setting on my camera and headed for the marsh. According to experienced birders, when the next cold front moves through, migration will be in full swing, so I wanted to try to 'capture' as many birds as I could before they departed. The first one I found was this male Red-winged Blackbird feeding on a cattail head. His feathers looked different yet again from the one I saw yesterday. Pieces of the cattail fluff were stuck to his head.
The Red-winged Blackbirds were feeding in a big patch of cattails this morning. These two shots of a male show the buff colored edges of the black feathers that apparently are present in the new feathers that come in after the August molt - in some birds to more of a degree than others. Then these edges are worn off through the winter, leaving the total black look of the bird in spring. Also evident here are the ocher-colored band of feathers (median coverts) just below the scarlet-colored ones, which give the bird its name.
Just recently a small flock of Red-winged Blackbirds has been evident at the marsh feeding in the large stand of phragmites (aka elephant grass) alongside the railbed. They seem to disappear in August, but actually that's when they are moulting, so they lay low until their new feathers have grown in. I caught this male clinging to a phragmites stem this morning; I also spotted a female (I think this fellow has a little more moulting to do on his head). Apparently the females migrate first, followed by the males sometime later.
