Of Spring, Wetlands, and Blackbirds

You may have been of the same mind. Frankly, I was having doubts there for a while about whether or not spring would return to the valley. Then we had those teasers of weather, and I was even more uncertain.

Then, last sunny and breezy Tuesday afternoon, I drove by one of the wetlands out near the airport. With a window down, and my rig idling quietly along, I heard it: that gurgling, almost metallic, conk-a-ree, conk-a-ree, of a red-winged blackbird male declaring his turf out in the cattails. At last, the blackbirds had returned spring to Paradise.

Our blackbirds, of course, are the yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds. These are blackbird days, and always worth a few minutes of quiet, windows-down, warm afternoon, quiet time at one or another of the marshes or wetlands around the valley.

With striking flashes of color, they are easy to spot among cattails and bulrushes all over eastern Washington. With a little patience, you can begin to identify their calls and locations within marshes. The males have been here since January or February, and are occasionally mistaken for year-round residents (a few actually may be). They flew in early from as far south as Costa Rica to stake out territories prime enough to attract a handful of females. In the next couple weeks, courtship displays will be in full swing.

You will often see a red-winged male drop its wings, showing off its red and yellow shoulder patches. It will tip forward, spread its tail, and sing. Researchers have compared the colorful shoulder patches to “sergeant’s stripes,” signifying rank and social order. During a number of studies, males with smaller, or dyed, wing patches were routinely run off nesting territories by other males. Red-winged displays, and battles (should it come to that), will occur almost exclusively around the shallow edges of marshes and wetlands.

On the other hand, over deeper water (to four feet), the yellow-headed male will stand with its body thrust upward, showing off its yellow head and upper chest, while also tipping forward, spreading its tail, and singing with its wings half open.

By now, territories have been are pretty well established, and most females are making up their minds about playing house (nest?) with a particular male. Dominant males of both species may have several mates within their territories. The females, mostly brown and drab, will build their nests in the cattails or bulrushes. Nests will be built in emergent vegetation, firmly woven of bulky wet vegetation, and then lined with dried grass. As the nests dry, they will shrink and tighten into place.

Making more blackbirds can be a big challenge. The nests of both blackbirds are common drops for eggs of the parasitizing cowbird, which lets other species rear its young. In addition, nests and eggs of the yellow-headed birds are often destroyed by marsh wrens.

The female red‑winged will lay three or four blue‑green eggs, streaked with purple. The three to five eggs of the yellow-headed female are gray to greenish‑white, marked with brown or gray. Females are totally responsible for the twelve days of incubation. Males will generally sit nearby, singing their loud songs (the red-winged conk-a-ree and the yellow-headed gunk-eeeee) and protecting the nest territory. If time and conditions permit, the red-winged may produce three broods a year, ensuring that they remain the most populous bird in North America. The yellow-headed may produce two sets of fledglings. In late September, our blackbirds, along with starlings, grackles, cowbirds, and Brewer’s blackbirds, will gather in huge undulating flocks (as many as 250,000) for the fall trip to Central America.

The Reecer Creek Rod, Gun, Working Dog & Outdoor Think Tank Benevolent Association Science Education Committee requires scientific names. Red‑winged  is Agelaius phoeniceus and the yellow-headed is Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. Both species make their livings on insects, spiders, grass and other seeds, along with some fruits. For more info, including research and observation projects, see The Birder’s Handbook, by Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye. Birds of North America, by Robbins, Bruun and Zim, and any good field guide is good reading. Of course, you will find great photos and research online; start with Cornell University’s Ornithology Lab at www.allaboutbirds.org.

Take your ears, eyes, optics and cameras to the cattails and bulrushes.  Immerse yourself.  Be inspired. Feel and hear spring in Paradise.