Thursday, March 04, 2010

Season of Red-Wing Song

There are certain times of the year that beg to be recognized for the natural energy pulsing through them, and this feels like one of those times. It's the time of the red-wing song. As the flocks head north and the males start feeling the spring tides move through their bodies, I start hearing their song, "Oga-leeee!!!! Oga-leeee!!!!!" sounding from every direction when I step outside.

"Oga-leeee!!! Oga-leeee!!!!" says one in the remnants of last year's cattails.

"Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!" grumbles another one from a little farther down the draw, before he too breaks out into a celebratory, "Oga-leeee!!!! Oga-leeee!!!!"

From a nearby tree-top, I hear a third male throw his verbal hat into the ring, "Oga-leeeee!!!! Oga-leeee!!!!" Really, there are too many joining the verbal joust to figure out where each call is coming from.

I'm starting to hear a few other birds chorus too, like the killdeer I heard overhead early this morning when I went to pick up the paper, or the eastern meadowlark that was half-heartedly whistling his "Spring of the year!" melody when I walked in the back prairie about an hour ago, but the main soundtrack from dawn until dusk these days is provided by the red-winged blackbirds.

"Oga-leeee!!! Oga-leeee!!!!"...."Wake up!!!!! Wake up!!!! It's still gray, but Spring's here!!!! Spring's here!!!!"

2 comments:

qkslvrwolf said...

Was out for a walk with my friend Jessica last weekend, and she was straining for signs and sounds of the red-wings. We heard one, but never saw one.

Gaia Gardener: said...

Although I'm sure there are red-winged blackbirds in the Boston area, I suspect they are much more common here. Neat that you guys heard one, though!