PHOTO: Perched atop a swaying cattail stock, a male yellow-headed blackbird voices his territorial battle cry.By Lowell Washburn
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Photos By: Lowell Washburn
For resident members of yellow-headed blackbird colonies, a spectacularly successful nesting season is rapidly winding down. Although a handful of males still voice battle anthems from atop swaying cattail stalks, the unique tightly woven over-the-water grass baskets that once held eggs and babies are now empty. Although many remain incapable of sustained flight, this year’s crop of youngsters is now fledged. And although the awkward babies still cling desperately to nearby marsh vegetation and loudly beg food from their mothers, it won’t be long until they’ll begin hunting insects on their own.
PHOTO: A female yellow-headed blackbird delivers a beak full of insects to her recently fledged, but still dependant, young.Few things make a summer wetland seem more alive than does an active nesting colony of yellow-headed blackbirds. Yellow-heads are a lot like some people, they want neighbors --- but they don’t want them too close. To the casual observer, a nesting colony appears to be pure chaos as pairs vie for nesting space and males conduct constant aerial dog fights. By there is an underlying order to it all, and everyone eventually finds their own space.
PHOTO: A newly fledged yellow-headed blackbird clings precariously to its cattail perch. As nests become crowded, young yellow-heads leave home before they are fully capable of flight. As wing and tail feathers continue to grow, they remain solely dependant on their mothers who supply them with near constant deliveries of insects.Although yellow-heads remain an extremely common summer resident in northern Iowa’s prairie marsh country, the species is comparatively rare in the south. In Illinois, the yellow-headed blackbird is listed as an endangered species. This unique and interesting marsh creature is just one more good reason for protecting Iowa’s fragile wetland habitats.
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