Sign of spring? Red-winged blackbirds spotted in Kamloops
Spring is around the corner and migratory birds are coming back to the Thompson-Okanagan region including the brightly coloured red-winged black bird.
Outdoor enthusiast Darcy Peel snapped a photo of a red-winged black bird perched on a cattail in Kamloops in the Dufferin neighbourhood earlier this week.
“I always enjoy seeing the red-winged black birds in the late winter and spring,” Peel said. “They are often the first thing that really reminds me spring is not far off. I love their song as well.”
The male birds are easy to recognize being glossy black with red and yellow shoulder patches, while the females are brown.
Birders can expect to see more of them arriving to the area in the next month or so, according to bird expert at Wild Birds Unlimited in Kamloops Kurtis Huston.
“Believe it or not, not all red-wings migrate the same,” he said. “Some stay year round, and when it does come to migration the males will arrive before the females.”
READ MORE: ‘The early bird gets the worm,’ look for these birds around the Thompson Okanagan
Huston said it's common for many migratory species to start showing up in February, although most arrive in March.
“The lowest they would go for migratory purposes would be southern U.S. but this particular species is either short distance migratory or non-migratory,” he said. “Likely a bird that nests in our region or north wouldn’t go a lot further south than the Lower Mainland. Like many birds, their breeding range would go to northern Canada into the boreal forests.”
Red-winged black birds are one of the most abundant birds across North America, according to allaboutbirds.org.
They roost in flocks throughout the year and in summer small numbers roost in wetlands where they breed. Birders can find them perched on cattails in marshes and wetlands and sitting on telephone wires. The males have a unique song that sounds like conk-la-ree.
“Their call is quite distinct, once you hear it you can never mistake it,” Huston said.
READ MORE: Birders flock to Kelowna to get photo of rarely seen species
Backyard birders can attract the blackbirds by spreading mixed grains and seeds on the ground, particularly during migration.
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