Damn Nuisance

Day 116: You know I love birds. Most birds, that is. There are Exceptions: pigeons, starlings, eagles (just big pigeons with white heads and a larger appetite for garbage). I even enjoy seeing Canada Geese as long as they stay over there when I'm over here, and I have never had any specific personal issues with the notorious English Sparrow. However, then there are Red-Winged Blackbirds. If they'd just remained in their bogs! But no, they stopped by one afternoon several years back and discovered that black-oil sunflower seeds are somewhat tastier than cattail seeds, and now I can't get rid of them. I bang on the window. I clap my hands loudly. I run through the yard waving my arms screaming invective strong enough to curdle milk, but they only move across the street, returning as soon as I turn my back. The other birds seem to understand the dilemma, hardly pausing when they see me raving about "*$&%ing blackbirds!!!" It's as if they know that I'm defending the feeders, something they daren't try against this highly aggressive species. No other bird scares them away: not jays, not crows, not even the ravens. Talk about a sense of entitlement! I'll stand a blackbird up against a welfare recipient any day.

Blackbird Convention

Day 77: I am up to the eyeballs in blackbirds, all Red-winged and mostly male. I don't understand how they missed the memo that they were supposed to migrate to a warmer clime, although I suspect that discovery of a seemingly bottomless supply of black-oil sunflower seed might have been an influencing factor. Now it must be said that I love almost all birds (the short list of exceptions topped by pigeons and starlings), but these guys are drivin' me nutz. Even the Steller's Jays are intimidated by them when outnumbered five to one. I have taken to standing at the window and at the first sight of a blackbird incursion, I wave my hands or tap on the glass. That tactic is generally sufficient to move them into the contorted filber where they gather in droves as I wait them out. After half a dozen or a dozen attempts, they usually give up. At least my staying power is longer than theirs. Two or three Red-wings is plenty, thank you, and six is about the limit of my seed budget. Thirty is...well, thirty is more than any of us, Porch Parrots, Steller-fellers, Towhees or Sparrows can stand.

Pie Minus 19

Day 25: We used to refer to them as "story problems" when I was in elementary school: If you have forty pounds of black-oil sunflower seed and (pie minus 19 Red-winged Blackbirds) who subtract one three-pound coffee can from it every two hours, calculate how much each Blackbird consumes every thirty minutes and then calculate how long the supply will last, given that there is no change in the rate of consumption or number of blackbirds. Now expand your view to include the whole pie, add twenty Steller's Jays, a dozen Chickadees, one Nuthatch, one Evening Grosbeak, assorted sparrows and juncos, nine Mourning Doves, the occasional Crow, and calculate how much money you'll have by the end of the month given that black-oil seed costs roughly $17/bag. The aforementioned pie would not fit in my refrigerator even though a) it is currently empty and b) I am not inclined to cook Blackbirds. Keeping with the mathematical theme of this exercise, tell me why the Blackbirds sheared off at a tangent and instead of going to Mineral where they usually dine on cattails, came here instead. Sharpen your pencils and get to work. You have fifteen minutes before the feeder needs refilling.

Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius Phoeniceus

Day 132: I tend to think of Red-Winged Blackbirds in wetlands, pecking the seeds out of cattail heads, foraging for bugs in the brush. Why then do they show up in my yard in droves in winter to hang out in the contorted filbert with Porch Parrots and the inevitable Starlings? I used to think my feeders were on their list of fast-food restaurants, and that they were stopping by for a quick snack en route to the finer establishments along the shores of Mineral Lake, but each year for the last decade or so, their numbers have been on the increase. They've stayed longer, with a few individuals present through the summer months. They don't seem to nest nearby (or at least I don't see early young, and the adults are very territorial when breeding), nor do I know if the blackbird population at Mineral has declined (I rather doubt it, because it is excellent habitat for this species). Later in the year, I may also see a few Brewer's Blackbirds in my yard. Their yellow eyes almost always send me running for the field guides, only to discover that I've identified them before. "Oh, them again," I say as I put Sibley back on the shelf.

The Flasher

Day 88: Humans smile. They frown. They scowl. Their eyebrows raise or draw together. Lines appear at the corners of their eyes. In short, the human face is the clearest indicator of the state of mind affecting the individual. Dogs and cats and a few other species smile and may exhibit a less versatile repertoire of facial expression, but birds...well, you'd think a bird was pretty much stuck with no way of making its emotions known. Anthropomorphization aside, birds have emotions. Anyone who's ever lived with a Psittacine can vouch for that.

Adult male Red-Winged Blackbirds exhibit a band of red and yellow feathers on the upper portion of their wings. Even during mating season when the colours are at their brightest, this patch may be relatively indistinct. When the bird is agitated or when it wants to impress a lady-friend, this band can be seen more clearly, signifying the mood of the moment. Any of the cockatoo species possessing a crest can raise it at will, with subtle differences of position (height, spread) signifying a range of emotions from concern to curiosity. Exactly what is going on in a brain which doesn't verbalize is open to conjecture, but the emotion is there. It is vanity for a human to think otherwise, and demonstrates just how self-centered we as a species can be.

Cock Of The Walk

Day 172: This Red-Winged Blackbird deserves having his photo used as today's feature. I'd been perched at the open window for half an hour, patiently and vainly waiting for a Varied Thrush to decide there was something worth inspecting which was not in the deep shadows under the contorted filbert while Mr. Blackbird kept pacing back and forth, as if to say, "Well, I'm here. Aren't I pretty enough?" Just to have something to do, I snapped a few pictures, not really expecting him to be quite so photogenic. I never got a clear shot of the thrush (for some reason, they are a difficult species for me despite being fairly common), but I am certainly not disappointed with this cute and cocky pose.

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.

Redwinged Blackbird Invasion Force

Day 178: I don't recall having ever had as many Redwinged Blackbirds in my yard, nor that they have ever hung around for more than a few days while in transit to Mineral Lake, their customary habitat. This year, the first ones arrived about a month ago, stayed for a week (longer than usual even at that), and then I saw what I assumed to be a few stragglers passing through every few days or so. Today, they seized control of the contorted filbert within minutes of the time I had put out seed, eight or nine females (left) and four or five males (right). I stayed on the porch, not willing to risk my hide for closer shots. The males were actively displaying, spreading their wings and calling.

Don't laugh. Redwings are notoriously territorial toward other birds during mating season and will even conduct air strikes on humans if they feel their nesting area is threatened. Several years ago, I saw a sign on the fence surrounding a water-reclamation pool at a business park: WARNING - AGGRESSIVE BLACK BIRD. Apparently, employees were being terrorized while on lunch break, and people arriving to do business were being driven back to the safety of their vehicles.

I'm puzzled as to why I have so many this year. There are no cattails growing in the ditches nearby, and the nearest bodies of water (excluding a small stream) are Mineral Lake and Alder Lake, each about two miles away. Theoretically, there should be no draw to bring these birds to my yard. I'm a little ashamed of myself for saying it, but I hope they move on fairly soon.

Open Hostility

Today as I was sitting by one of my favorite wetlands along the Foothills Trail, I was casting about for photographic subjects and in the tail of my eye, caught a flurry of wings and a dive-bombing streak. I looked up and saw a Great Blue Heron perched at the top of an old snag about twenty feet high and a Red-Winged Blackbird devilling the daylights out of him. There were actually two male Red-Wings working together. One bird would dive for the Heron's head, permitting its companion in the assault to approach from behind to land on the big bird's back or stubby tail. The Heron stood its ground for a good fifteen minutes, remaining motionless under the savage attacks save for stretching its neck and raising its beak. Finally, it gave up. One Blackbird immediately occupied the perch and announced its dominance with rapidly repeated calls. If you look closely, you can see where the cap of the Heron's wing has been bloodied by repeated peckings. I was fortunate to make this capture of the Red-Wing in full display.

Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius Phoeniceus

Day 181: Sexual dimorphism is fairly common in birds, and it provides one of the greatest challenges to the beginning birdwatcher. It is quite evident in Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), the male's characteristics giving rise to the common name while the female is neither black nor red-winged, and can easily be mistaken for a sparrow. So what's a budding ornithologist to do? Observe the birds' behaviour and learn to identify their song!

Blackbirds show a marked preference for cattail bogs and can often be found clutching plant stems near the head. Cattails provide both a food source and nesting material for the species. The call of these birds is also quite readily distinguished by its liquid, musical quality.