Those Red-winged Blackbirds Have Left the Building - Or At Least Left Carillon Stonegate Pond!

Have you noticed something missing around the cattail shoreline of Carillon Stonegate Pond over the past month or so?

There used to be – from early Spring to the start of Summer – larger black birds heading back and forth between food sources and our pond’s cattails. You could not miss the activity. But these blackbirds – specifically, Red-winged Blackbirds – are nowhere to be found. With breeding or nesting season finished, they have simply vanished from the ponds at Carillon Stonegate!

Red-winged Blackbird on Carillon Stonegate Pond.

According to All About Birds (my sources for information in this blog), the Red-winged Blackbird is one of the most abundant birds across the U.S. and North America. And they are one of the most boldly colored. The return of Spring is always and happily marked by their early and tumbling song as they return to their nesting areas - such as Carillon Stonegate Pond.

Common Name: Red-winged Blackbird.

Scientific Name: Agelaius phoeniceus

What to look for?  Red-winged Blackbirds are unmistakable – that is, the male. They're a strong-looking bird of glossy black coloring with shoulder badges that are red and yellow – which they can puff up or hide depending on how confident or aggressive they feel. Females are dark brownish overall, paler on the breast and often with a whitish eyebrow.

How big are they? The Red-winged Blackbird averages 7 to 9 inches in length. They weigh in at more than 2 ounces. And their wingspan is 12 to 16 inches.

What are their flight patterns? Red-winged Blackbirds are strong and agile fliers. Around Carillon Stonegate Pond, you will observe Red-winged Blackbirds making frequent short, low flight paths from feeding sources to nesting areas in the cattails along the shore. You may also see them in flight in mass to roost in the large trees north of the pond to survey their “territories”.

How else do they behave? Sometimes badly! They are very territorial and aggressive during the nesting season. Males often sit up high on a tree surveying their territories and will aggressively fly after intruders with their red wing-patches displayed boldly. Adults are very aggressive in their nesting territory. They will attack larger birds that approach. And they will loudly protest you or me as we walk or intrude their property (think the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds”). Here is a story in Kane County Chronicle worth reading.

What’s for dinner? While about 75% of the annual Red-winged Blackbird diet is seeds, they primarily eat insects in the spring (breeding season) and summer and seeds, including corn and wheat, in the fall and winter. Sometimes they feed by probing at the bases of aquatic plants with their slender bills, prying them open to get at insects hidden inside.

Where do they take up residence? During nesting season, look for Red-winged Blackbirds in fresh and saltwater marshes and along ponds and water hazards on golf courses. In the fall and winter, you can find them at crop fields, feedlots, and pastures. Red-winged Blackbirds build their nests low among vertical shoots of marsh vegetation – which is why Carillon Stonegate ponds are so popular!

Red-winged Blackbird overlooking nest at Carillon Stonegate Pond.

Where do they migrate? Red-winged Blackbirds are year-round residents across much of their range. Those birds that breed further north may migrate to the southern United States – migrating in late-fall and arriving back to their breeding grounds very early in the Spring. Outside of nesting season, Red-winged Blackbirds migrate in very large flocks.

Birds of North America Range Map of Red-winged Blackbirds

Do they make any interesting sounds? You can listen for the male’s conk-la-lee! Song during the Spring. During nesting season when these birds are more protective and aggressive, they rarely approach without a warning sound, such as a scolding “chak” or a “tjeet”.

Interesting Facts About Red-winged Blackbird:

• The Red-winged Blackbird is a highly polygynous species, meaning males have many female mates – generally five or more.
• Male Red-winged Blackbirds fiercely defend their territories during the breeding season, spending more than a quarter of daylight hours in territory defense, including people.
• Red-winged Blackbirds roost in flocks in all months of the year but in summer they roost in smaller numbers in the wetlands where the birds breed.
• Red-winged Blackbird populations declined by over 30% between 1966 and 2014 (North American Breeding Bird Survey) to a global breeding population of 130 million.
• The oldest recorded Red-winged Blackbird was nearly 16 years old.

For more information on Red-winged Blackbird and sources of information used in this blog (these are the sources that I am using to learn as I blog), please visit All About Birds and Audubon Society.  And the Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides a wonderful source of information for anyone interested in learning more about birds.

The Carillon at Stonegate community is very fortunate to have a variety of wetland, forest and prairie environments conducive to a variety of birds and other wildlife. Our community and the Kane County Forest Preserve does an exceptional job in maintaining this natural environment – both for the benefit of the birds and wildlife and for our residents to enjoy. Take a hike and see what you can find – and identify!

And please come back to our blog – “Life on Carillon Stonegate Pond” to learn more about the birds and wildlife the either live or visit this wonderful habitat. As I learn, I share with you.