Insight: Pumped-up Red-wings

A male Red-winged Blackbird. Yes, it is walking around looking for food in the dry grass on the roadside; and yes, it is pausing every few steps to sing. Photo by Kenn Kaufman.

Early March: Okay, I know this isn't directly related to migration, which is the focus of this effort.  But I can't help but notice the behavior of the male Red-winged Blackbirds that have set up breeding territories in the local marshes.

Some flocks of Red-wings are around all winter, but there's a point in February when a change in behavior is obvious.  Individual males spread out into the frozen marshes, to perch at the tops of the dead stems of last year's grasses, each one singing to announce his own claim to his breeding territory for the season.  The females may not have arrived in the area yet, the actual nesting season may still be weeks away, but those males are making sure they have staked out their turf. 

By now, in early March, the male Red-winged Blackbirds are really worked up.  I was just watching them along the road at Magee Marsh.  They will temporarily abandon their territories out in the marsh and will come to the short grass along the roadside to hunt for food.  But even there, while they forage, they will pause every few moments, puff out their shoulders, and sing.  I guess the instinct is so strong at this time of year that they just can't help themselves.