GRACKLES AND RED-WINGS

     Flocks of north-bound purple grackles and red-winged blackbirds flow into southeastern Pennsylvania during March each year.  Those noisy gatherings of related blackbird species, whether in groups of their own, or in mixed congregations, land on fields, meadows and fields to feed on invertebrates, grain, seeds and everything else that's edible.  And their pretty, interesting flocks move from place to place, as food runs out in each spot.

     Interestingly, both these lovely kinds of blackbirds also do much foraging on the shores of waterways and ponds.  One can see them flipping leaves and pebbles over to catch the invertebrates that might have been sheltering underneath.  And these blackbirds also poke through piles of twigs or grass heaped on the shores by higher than usual water.     

     Both blackbird species are attractive.  Grackles have a purple and green sheen on their black feathers.  Males are more glossy and a little larger than their mates.  Male red-wings have black feathering all over, with a vivid red shoulder patch on each wing that is most visible when those birds fly or raise their wings when singing.  The lovely female red-wings look like large sparrows, with heavy, dark streaking in their brown feathering.  

     Pure groups of red-wings, or mixed gangs of calling blackbirds, in flight, resemble coal in furnaces, with striking, red-hot coals glowing among the black ones.  Those red shoulders on male red-wings are always attractive.   

     Individuals of each blackbird species soon break away from those March gatherings and seek nesting sites in their preferred spring and summer habitats.  Most grackles go to groves of planted, densely-needled coniferous trees in suburban areas, including where I live.  There male grackles repeatedly raise their wings, fluff their feathers and squeak to establish nesting territories and invite females to mate.  And there female grackles build grassy cradles in loose colonies, in which both genders raise young during May.         

     Meantime, red-wings settle into cattail patches and fields of tall grass to raise young.  The handsome males repeatedly sing "kon-ga-reeee" while swaying on cattail or grass stalks, Females build grassy nurseries on cattail or grass stalks several inches above water or soil.  And there both parents feed the young in May and into early June.  

     By hatching young in different niches, including human-made ones, these related blackbird species don't compete for nesting sites or food.  These different kinds of blackbirds, and all species of life, were created by their related ancestors using different niches free of competition from their cousins.  Each species diverged from its relatives to take advantage of a particular niche and its food sources.

     After nesting, grackles and red-wings gather into pure, or mixed, groups again and roam the countryside to glean invertebrate and grain food.  And slowly they drift farther south to avoid the perils and food shortages of winter.  

     This spring and summer, look for the interesting colonies of grackles and red-wings rearing offspring.  And watch for the intriguing flocks of grackles and red-wings feeding on invertebrates in lawns and fields.  Both genders of both species are attractive, and they are harbingers of the vernal season each year.