Page 10 - OASC April 2021 Newsletter

Spring birds will soon be arriving here daily...
David Hawke - Saturday, 13 March 2021
The returning migrants will soon be arriving daily, those birds that have completed their winter get-away trip and are coming home to roost and nest.
Although we still have a thick layer of snow remaining in some places, these birds are running on an internal calendar clock that says it’s time to get on with the business of procreation.
For the male red-winged blackbirds, there is a checklist of items that must be accomplished. First, get home. This northward flight of the migration will take them through storms of wind, snow and ice, as well as challenge them to find enough food along the way to sustain their energy.
Second, get there first. The early arrivals will begin claiming territory and the late-comers will either have to do battle or keep moving on. In the big picture, it probably doesn’t really matter who gets there first as there will be numerous skirmishes won and lost, but no doubt there is a certain avian macho satisfaction to be the first to cry “oh-ker-ree” from the puffy head of an old cattail.
Third on the list will be to attract a fine lady friend, or two, or three. However, one of the frustrations of being a male redwing is that you have to wait for the females to get their act together and finally show up. Sometimes this wait can stretch into two or three weeks. So much for being the first one back to the ol’ marsh. The girls will arrive in their own sweet time, when the snow is gone, the food is plentiful and the flying divine.
As the girls fly by, the lads with the bright red wing patches will call and display like, well, like love- starved males. “Hey babe! Over here! Nice clump of cattails here, great nesting opportunity! Hey! Hey!” Admittedly this translation is part guesswork on my behalf, being a loose translation of what the bird guide describes as simply “oh-ker-ree”.
Once a harem has been assembled, nest building will begin. As any guy who has had a harem will know, it is a full-time job keeping an account of the ladies. Some want to get on with mating and nesting (as they should) but others are still sneaking a look at the guy next door. Lacking the ability to install chain-link fences, male blackbirds have to keep patrolling their boundaries to ensure neigh- bour Bob stays over there while little lady Jane stays over here. Harem tending is a demanding job.
Not all bird species birds subscribe to this dash back-and-forth between continents migration non- sense. Chickadees, blue jays, crows, and woodpeckers stay put all winter, holding on to the homestead
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