Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night...

Okay, they don't sing in the dead of night, at least the kind we have around here don't. At least I don't think they do. But they are the one sure sign that spring is definitely on its way, next to robins that is. Speaking of which, I saw my first one of the year of those this morning.

Anyway, back to the blackbirds. We have around here what is called the red wing blackbird. Their whole wing isn't red but they have a stripe of red and another of yellow on their wings. Their song, like the cardinal's is easily recognized by anyone who knows it. Here is a picture of one found on the Eastern Washington website.

Sometimes you hear it before you see it, as is the case with me. But as soon as you hear it, you can't help but think that spring isn't far behind. That and the fact that we put our clocks forward by one hour next weekend.

Apparently red wing blackbirds are abundant in the northern USA but I don't ever recall seeing one until we moved here to Iowa. I could be wrong though. We did live in Washington state for a year and I might have seen one there too. I don't ever recall seeing one in Pennsylvania when I lived there though, that I'm sure of.

Since theirs is the song we hear the most around here, I tend to grow tired of it by the time summer rolls around, but it also makes me feel good when I hear it for the first time in the year, especially if we happen to have snow on the ground, which we did again this year, but not much. 

I still love hearing cardinals more though. They still are after eagles, my favorite bird.