Looking for spring: red-winged blackbirds

There may be some red-winged blackbirds that remain year-round in the Pacific Northwest, but most of them have the good sense to heigh themselves off to some hot spot like Costa Rica for the winter. Around this time of year, I start watching for their return--these birds promise that spring is on the way.

Baby, I've got some prime lakefront property.
Photo by NDomer73 

The males show up first, vying for good nesting areas around ponds and roadside ditches. When a male finds a place likely to intrigue a female, he fluffs his feathers to reveal the crimson shoulder badges, proclaiming himself the law of the land and ready to defend his territory. An incoming male who doesn't want an argument travels undercover, with his own epaulets hidden under black feathers, while a challenger arrives with epaulets blazing.


The males sometimes get so riled up about their property rights that they initially run off the newly-arriving females. But the females are persistent, and will lurk around the property until he comes to his senses.

For many years it was known that male red-winged blackbirds are monogamous if there are enough of them to go around, but polygamous if there are fewer males than females. Then DNA testing revealed that many of the females do a little trysting on the sly--the young in a nest can have different daddies. Oh, those sneaky backdoor lovers!


Have you seen any red-winged blackbirds yet? (If so, where do you live?)