Now that it's full and glorious green spring, if you live anywhere near fresh water, you know that red-winged blackbirds are everywhere right now. These are the smallish black birds with brilliant red and yellow epaulets on their wings. When the male is trying to impress a female or threaten another male, his red and yellow stripes fluff out quite impressively. He may also tip forward on his branch to where he looks like he may fall completely forward. I guess you have to be a bird to see this latter part as classy or scary. The females are a subdued combination of brown to tan stripes. Good camo for nesting. Years ago, I excitedly misidentified a female red-wing in our yard as a Northern Waterthrush (a rarity in our area ). A humbling experience. But, if you try to ID birds, that will happen. Learning from it is the key.
Red-wings particularly like boggy, grassy areas where water moves, preferably at a slow pace. They'll take wetlands, rivers, lake edges, streams, biggish wet spots on the golf course. And they're everywhere. This is a good bird to learn if you're just starting out, as you will see it anywhere in the U.S. and most of Canada at certain times of the year. Some red-wings evidently don't like all our rain and snow and fly to Mexico for the winter. So it's easy to see one and just toss off "Oh, another red-wing. We have tons of them around the house..." Also, if you're learning bird song, this guy is an easy one. Nothing else sounds like a red-wing. (I won't go into the mimic birds here, it's just depressing.) Red-wings aren't skulky birds that hide in dense thickets. The male will find the tallest reed in the swamp and proclaim his territory for all to see and hear. When you see a male, watch him for an open beak. When he starts to sing, you can tie the song to the bird. One by one, bird songs will become identifiable. You probably already know robin, chickadee, cardinal, if you live in the Midwest. They add up.
We woke the other morning, still almost night, to the sound of a red wing creaking his morning song. It really was darker than light, and we thought the cat had made the sound. Hard to describe, some say it sounds like an un-oiled gate being opened. The first few birds to sing so early in the morning always sound charmingly sleepy. Their song is tentative at first, just a note or two, then a long silence, then a few more notes. He finally got a good start on it just the geese that live farther up the lake flew by, yelping their louder morning song.
When all the birds begin to sing first thing in the morning, it's called the dawn chorus. If you can pry yourself out of bed before dawn on a summer day, grab some coffee and a chair and sit outside. First, small sleepy peeps and chirps, maybe from a junco, then towhee jumps in with his questioning call, chickadee starts dee-ing, the red-wings chime in, then the goldfinch crew almost drowns out everyone as a hummer zooms by on its first food foray. It's glorious to see the sky turn light as the birds sing it a greeting. What better way to start the day.
Back to blackbirds, briefly. Don't be fooled into thinking you see tri-colored blackbirds unless you live in the western half of California, or very small, specific places in Oregon. They are a rarity north of the California border. And they can look a lot like a red-wing. The yellow of the red-wing is white on a tri-colored. And of course, the yellow on the red-wing can look pretty white sometimes. But be suspicious. If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras (unless you're in Africa). According to the bird books, the tri-colored's song is more nasal. Hard to tell unless you've listened to a lot of red-wings. Also, yellow-headed blackbirds live throughout the west, but usually not on the coast. Mainly in the dry lands east of the mountains. They're easy: looks like someone dumped a can of brilliant yellow paint over their heads.
Birds do wander off the courses that we humans expect of them. So it is possible to see a rarity in your area. It happens all the time. Just be suspicious, take notes, take photos if you can. Have someone more experienced look at it. Or, just enjoy the birds for what they are, watch them get through life, feeding, avoiding danger, caring for young, singing. Singing.
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