Birdland
A Rich, Musical O-Ka-Leeee!
With its very distinctive song, the red-winged blackbird is abundant, and is often viewed as a good luck omen. When it’s not cast in silhouette, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology notes “the 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.” That won’t happen for a few more months in Colorado, but for the red-winged blackbird, the promise is ever present. This bird was photographed by Park Hill resident Mark Silverstein.