Date: 4/30/26 5:12 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Unusual Backyard Migrant: Red-Winged Blackbird
Thank you Dennis. I thought it was unusual when he lingered day after
day. I was less puzzled when I saw the adult Red-Winged, but I haven't
seen the adult for over 5 days now.
He is getting sunflower chips daily and I've seen him pluck a bit at the
suet feeder, so he is coming in for food and probably water. I had hoped
he was restoring himself from migration and then would move on. It's over
a week now so I am puzzled. There are some bits of open field within a
mile from here. Mostly it is a forested area in front and behind me
with some streams. There are some larger fields a mile or so from me by
the Stanwood Water Filtration area.
I'm hoping he will feel rested and restored and can find a better spot
soon.
On a happier note, I saw the first Black-Headed Grosbeak of the season
today!
On Thu, Apr 30, 2026 at 4:42 PM Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
wrote:
> Ann, that’s one I can’t answer other than to say that birds have wings and
> can turn up anywhere. I think most Red-winged Blackbirds would be in open
> country if not breeding, but they wander. We have had one or two fly over
> our house in a wooded neighborhood in Seattle, but I’ve never seen one
> otherwise anywhere nearer than Lake Washington. They emphatically wouldn’t
> occur with tanagers, grosbeaks and most warblers!
>
> So yeah, it’s unusual, and it seems unlikely he would commute daily
> between a wetland and your yard at that distance. Is he coming to a feeder?
> If a good enough source of food, that might attract him, and blackbirds can
> fly some distance between food and night-time roosts, although I don’t know
> if they would fly that far on a daily basis. And they really are flocking
> birds during the off season, so being by himself is definitely unusual.
>
> But I presume if he made it there from a marsh where he was hatched,
> presumably he can fly far enough to find another one. But his presence only
> during sunny weather is beyond me to try to explain!
>
> Dennis
>
> On Apr 30, 2026, at 3:25 PM, Ann Kramer <lens4birds...> wrote:
>
> Thank you for the clarification, Dennis, between a juvenile and one year
> old.
>
> To be more clear on my question, is it common for a marsh bird to wander
> into a sub rural community during migration and is it likely to find its
> way to a more suitable habitat eventually on his own?
>
> On Thu, Apr 30, 2026 at 9:12 AM Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
> wrote:
>
>> Ann, I think it’s too early for juveniles (birds hatched this year), so
>> maybe it’s a one-year-old male. Many but perhaps not all of them breed.
>>
>> Dennis Paulson
>> Seattle
>>
>> On Apr 29, 2026, at 5:06 PM, Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>> Tweets,
>> I have a question about a juvenile Red-Winged Blackbird who has made my
>> backyard his home for the past week. I thought he had left a few days ago
>> but since then realized he frequents my backyard only when the sun is out.
>> So he's back again today. I suspect he might be spending time near one of
>> the marshy areas less than a mile from here. I'm still pretty new to this
>> area and am used to Western Tanagers, Warblers and Evening Grosbeaks
>> passing through in the Spring, but not marsh birds.
>>
>> I have an acre, tons of native trees in the back third, lots of natives
>> in the front yard. But this is by no means a marsh. As the Wetlands I
>> used to frequent when I lived in California was lousy with thousands of
>> RWBB's, I love listening to his call but I'm concerned he is lost. There
>> was another adult male with him the first few days, but he seems to have
>> left now. Should I be concerned or should I trust he will find his way to
>> his destination even without the company of his elder?
>>
>>
>>
>> *Ann*
>>
>> Ann Kramer, Wildlife and Nature Photographer
>>
>> www.annkramer.smugmug.com
>>
>>
>>
>> *“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”
>> ― John Muir*
>>
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>
