The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is one of the most abundant birds across North America, and is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring, although I personally feel that Common Grackles are a better indicator of spring up here. Though they may be one of the most abundant native birds on the continent, Red-winged Blackbird populations have declined by over 30% throughout most of their range between 1966 and 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The male Red-winged Blackbird’s conk-la-ree! is a classic sound of wetlands across the continent and will be hard to miss if you visit here during the spring and summer.
The container is a big camouflaged plastic jar, and contains a log and a few small trinkets. You will need to bring your own writing tool. There is plenty of room to park on the shoulder of the road.