Each year, 6-10 pair of Red-winged Blackbirds return to our pond (or should I say we live on their pond?). These are the great grandchildren of birds that have been coming here, long before we lived here. This year it was March 2nd and the pond was still frozen and a snowstorm arrived a day or two after they landed to pick out their nesting spots among the cat tails. Before nesting, they spend their time in the pine trees or the maples, alert to all the movements around the farm. The call goes out when the cat leaves the house and becomes a collective network as long as he is out. The same is true when humans venture near the pond--the males leave the nest and head to a higher lookout and alert the others on the pond. It is always a delight when they arrive, because Spring is following them up from the Southern States where they spend the winter. And, it is always a sad day in late summer when I realize I no longer hear them and the last one leaves the pond.
