Red-wing Blackbirds, Grackles and Starlings all form large flocks before moving south. It’s an awesome spectacle. Way back in September, more than a month ago, my daughter Seabrooke posted about blackbird flocks on her blog, The Marvelous in Nature. I hadn’t noticed any congregations of blackbirds around here, and thought perhaps the area birds had chosen somewhere removed from our property for their migratory staging.
However, on multiple occasions over the last few days I have stepped out my door and been greeted by a cacophony of birdy babbling that can mean only one thing. The blackbirds are coming together, getting ready to head south. If this annual event is taking place in your neighbourhood, you don’t have to beat around the bushes to witness the flock. You’ll know they’re there. Listen to this!
What a beautiful noise! It’s easy to anthropomorphize their conversations as they gossip together. “Hey Fred! How was the summer? How’re the Mrs. and the kids? Ready for the trip?” The blackbirds will move south and forage together in huge flocks before returning north again in the spring. This year, the migratory staging of the blackbirds has overlapped the return of the winter Dark-eyed Juncos from farther north.
Willow House Chronicles 