Meet the Red-Winged Blackbird
The arrival of Red-Winged Blackbirds here in central Ohio is a sign that spring is just around the corner. These medium-sized birds are native residents in Ohio, but tend to head south during the cold months. As their name suggests, the males are black birds with a red and orange patch on their wings. The females, on the other hand, have a brown and white streaky appearance, almost looking like a large sparrow. Towards the end of winter, huge flocks of Red-Winged Blackbirds migrate back to their breeding grounds. While they are not very hard to find, you can look for them around wetlands and lakes where they hang out among the reeds and cattails. Males have a distinctive song, which is also very loud and unmistakable when they are in large groups of sometimes thousands of birds.
Fun Facts:
- Wingspan of 12.2-15.8 inches1
- Oldest known Red-Winged Blackbird was 15 years and 9 months old2
- They are polygynous, meaning each male mates with multiple females
- The estimated global breeding population is 180 million Red-Winged Blackbirds3
Photography Tips
Red-Winged Blackbirds are abundant and males like to perch high on cattails to show off for the females. This means they are fairly easy to find and photograph!
- Check around water- lakes, marshes, wetlands- anywhere there are reeds and cattails.
- Listen for the distinctive call of male Red-Winged Blackbirds
- Photograph them during the golden hour, when they are returning to the marshes after foraging or before they leave in the morning.
- Keeping well-stocked bird feeders may attract large groups of Red-Winged Blackbirds to your yard, as well.
