Red-winged Blackbird Pictures by Rick Cameron

Raising Young

A male red-winged blackbird sings from a cattail at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Male red-winged blackbird sings on a foggy winter morning at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Early Start

The first step to raising young is to stake out your territory and find a mate. Male red-wings get an early start, both in the time of the year and the time of day. Even before winter has yielded to spring, the males at Ridgefield can be seen singing from the cattails in all kinds of weather. Arrive at sunrise when the refuge opens and the males will already be up to greet you in song.

A female red-winged blackbird perched on a cattail at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Giving the Boys the Business

While her mate was singing from the tops of the cattails, this female was often out of sight down in her nest. When anything flew into her airspace, however, she popped right up and chased off the intruders. It didn’t matter if they meant her or her eggs any harm, everything from yellowthroats to wrens to sparrows to yellow-headed blackbirds got the heave ho. I spent many hours watching her little patch of the marsh and had to work quickly to get photographs of the other birds before she’d chase them off.

I found the deference shown by the yellow-headed blackbirds the most curious as they were physically larger. They’d fly over to sing, she'd immediately go after them, they’d give her a bewildered look before heading back to the quieter interior of the marsh. After a few weeks of getting hassled, one male yellow-head did return the fight and they squabbled in the air for a while. I thought the larger bird would win over the female red-wing, but her wingman (her mate) joined the fray and the yellow-head retreated to safety.

Mouthful

When the young are born, males spend less time vocalizing from the tops of the cattails and more time on the ground gathering food for their little ones. This male had gathered a mouthful of caterpillars but still couldn't resist the urge to call out before popping down into the nest. He kept his mouth closed and didn't extend his body like he usually would have, so I was surprised at how loud the call was.

A red-winged blackbird fledgling perched in a patch of cattails at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Why They Go To All This Trouble

Redwings spend a lot of effort raising their young, from when they start staking out their territory, defending their nest, to feeding the hatchlings. This is the reason for all that effort, a fledgling that flew a few feet from the nest, paused for a few seconds, then flew right back to the safety of the nest.

Like with many species of birds, both male and female hatchlings resemble the adult female in coloration, but one look at the over-sized eyes and beak tells you this youngster hasn’t been out and about for long.

Males

Male red-winged blackbird at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Fortress

Watching this redwing brought back memories of a favorite activity from my childhood: building forts. Couch cushions, pillows, bedsheets — Alexander the Great couldn't have breached the strongholds we created. While this redwing didn't build his little fortress, he certainly seemed fond of playing in it. While the other males were singing and displaying from the tops of the cattails, this one spent a lot of time near the ground in the little turret at the top of the fort, occasionally hopping around to various other parts to survey the landscape, before returning to peer out from on high.

I'm not sure if his fort impressed the ladies, but it made me instantly jealous.

Do I still build forts? No, of course not, I'm all grown up now. The cushions were like that when I found them.

Singing in the Rain

A male displays and sings in a light rain at Ridgefield. April and May are a great time to see redwings at Rigefield, as the males congregate on some cattails near the side of the road on the auto tour loop to display for the females in the marsh. From a very close distance, you can observe the frequent displays where they sing and stretch out their wings, showing the females their resplendent red and yellow shoulder patches.

Females

Female red-winged blackbird at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Simpler Red

Female redwings lack the brilliant coloring of the males. They do have red patches on their wings (you can just see a bit of one here) but they pale in comparison to the epaulets of their flashy partners and are often entirely hidden from view.

Red-winged Blackbird Gallery

Up Close and Personal

Raising Young

Males on Display

Males

Females

	Giving the Boys the Business While her mate was singing from the tops of the cattails, this female was often out of sight down in her nest. When anything flew into her airspace, however, she popped right up and chased off the intruders. It didn’t matter if they meant her or her eggs any harm, everything from yellowthroats to wrens to sparrows to yellow-headed blackbirds got the heave ho. I spent many hours watching her little patch of the marsh and had to work quickly to get photographs of the other birds before she’d chase them off. I found the deference shown by the yellow-headed blackbirds the most curious as they were physically larger. They’d fly over to sing, she'd immediately go after them, they’d give her a bewildered look before heading back to the quieter interior of the marsh. After a few weeks of getting hassled, one male yellow-head did return the fight and they squabbled in the air for a while. I thought the larger bird would win over the female red-wing, but her wingman (her mate) joined the fray and the yellow-head retreated to safety.
	Mouthful When the young are born, males spend less time vocalizing from the tops of the cattails and more time on the ground gathering food for their little ones. This male had gathered a mouthful of caterpillars but still couldn't resist the urge to call out before popping down into the nest. He kept his mouth closed and didn't extend his body like he usually would have, so I was surprised at how loud the call was.
	Why They Go To All This Trouble Redwings spend a lot of effort raising their young, from when they start staking out their territory, defending their nest, to feeding the hatchlings. This is the reason for all that effort, a fledgling that flew a few feet from the nest, paused for a few seconds, then flew right back to the safety of the nest. Like with many species of birds, both male and female hatchlings resemble the adult female in coloration, but one look at the over-sized eyes and beak tells you this youngster hasn’t been out and about for long.