The Red-winged Blackbird

Pictured above is perhaps my favorite bird, the female red-winged blackbird. She strikes me as timid by nature – she’s not often seen. The photos here are a treasure to me, taken in two sessions in the last week. Though at first she might appear not much more than a small, dull brown bird, a study of her reveals a petite bird with striking lines, a lovely eye mask, and just a hint of the red (a rust colored stain) her mate boldly displays at the shoulder. And this bird is highly focused on her task of protecting her nest and its contents.

Based on my observation, each season, the red-winged blackbird males arrive several days before the females. The male is black, except for a brilliant red flash on his shoulder and a strip of creamy yellow that runs along the lower edge of the red. Depending on the season and things about mating that I’ve not determined, his red is more or less visible. For the past week, his red has been very evident. These birds seem to have established their nesting area, as always, low in the reeds in one corner of the pond.

I don’t know if the days of coupling are passed for this season, or still ahead. In the photo below (taken today) it is clear this pair is posturing for attention. The female (comparatively a dull brown to the male’s striking black and red) holds a statuesque posture as the male shows his bilateral red and calls to her.

The male is always visible, displaying a strong and confident manner. Several males will perch in the scrub along the pond’s shore, and they click, whistle and call raucously to each other (or to the females?), and they spar in the air over the nesting area. All the while, a flicker here or there, deep in the reeds, might catch my eye, making me aware that the females are present, in a far more low-key way.