Mr. Redwing

Day 136: Although winter isn't generally considered the best time of year for birding, you'd have no problem checking off a dozen or more species on any given day from the comfort of my living room. The Red-winged Blackbirds always stop through on their way to Mineral Lake, although they seem to have arrived a bit earlier than usual this year, and in greater numbers. In a few weeks, I should see their cousins, the Brewers, whose yellow eyes invariably send me scampering for the field guide before I remember who they are. Nesting Red-wings can be extremely territorial even toward humans, to the extent that a few years ago, a sign by a small pond in an industrial park warned visitors to "Beware Aggressive Black Bird." Air strikes were apparently fairly common in the parking lot.