A Red-winged blackbird is perched in the tall grass (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) / ALTERNATIVE CROP (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Wisconsin's wetlands are about to get a whole lot louder. Red-winged blackbirds have been steadily arriving with southern winds and are setting up their territory for spring breeding season.
Females will arrive later in spring, but this noisy bird is quite common across Wisconsin. They especially like wetlands and woodland edges where they can have easy access to food and ground-nesting sites. Even right here at FOX6, a handful of males have begun making their presence known in some honeylocust trees.
If you've ever been dive-bombed by a bird, odds are it was one of these birds defending their nest. They can often be seen chasing off hawks and other birds of prey much larger than themselves.
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A flock of red-winged blackbirds (Photo by Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
They will also often flock in groups with other blackbird species. Starlings and cowbirds are other species that have learned to keep company with this early spring arriver.