Not a Bluebird

Spring equinox occurred yesterday, marking the official arrival of spring.  But in my way of thinking spring is legitimate only when bluebirds return from overwintering far south of here.

I have been looking for them, but no bluebirds just yet.  They are late this year, thanks, I am guessing, to lingering abnormally cold weather.

Yesterday, however, I did spot three red-winged blackbirds clinging to some cattails at a (mostly frozen) pond we pass when driving though the ranchlands to reach the broad valley beyond.   Spotting red-winged blackbirds is a near equivalent to seeing the first bluebird.

Red-winged blackbirds are another migratory bird.  They breed in wetlands and marshes across North America.  During the winter, they migrate to the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America.

Red-winged blackbirds are omnivorous. During the breeding season (read summer here), they primarily feed on insects.  During the winter, their diet shifts to include seeds, fruits, and grains, which they may forage from agricultural fields or wetland habitats.

Bluebirds share the same diet.

Arriving to our unseasonable and “insectless” cold, I am hoping the red-winged blackbirds manage to forage something else, but leave a little for my bluebirds.

—Mitchell Hegman

Photo: Wikipedia