Migratory birds are staking territory, a sure sign of a Minnesota spring

March is known as the month for the first return of many bird migrants, such as American robins, song sparrows, killdeers, sandhill cranes, wood ducks and dozens more.

I want to talk about two species that are amazing travelers.

Last year the first 60-degree day (March 8 in the Twin Cities area) and south winds ushered in the first male red-winged blackbirds. Early that evening I went to a marsh near Lake Waconia to hear them calling and trilling. Always when they first arrive we know that more snow and raw winds can be expected in the next few weeks. However, the first red-wings are back trilling their "o-ka-leeee" songs in wetlands, and that's music to our winter-weary ears and a welcome spring sign.

One of Minnesota's most widespread and numerous birds, red-wings winter in southern states, but the glossy black males with bright-red shoulder patches return early and stake out nesting territory claims in marshes and along reedy edges of lakes.They do so singing and flashing red from the tops of surrounding vegetation, often cattails. Females arrive several weeks later. They're sparrow-like birds with white eyebrows but otherwise brown above and streaked with brown below.The drab colors camouflage the female when she sits quietly on her nest.

Red-winged blackbirds feed during the day and rest at night.Their food consists of seeds, berries, insects and spiders. They walk on the ground when searching for food.

Even with several hours of rain a year ago Friday, the first-of-year common grackles arrived in our Waconia neighborhood. Millions of our Minnesota grackles winter in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The grackle is the foot-long blackbird with bright yellow eyes. They appear black at a distance but are highly iridescent. The head iridescence may be green, blue or purple, depending on how the light hits. They have a long, keel-shaped tail and fairly long black bill. Female grackles look similar to males, only duller and a bit smaller.

The range of the common grackle extends east of the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada to the Gulf States. They are summer residents throughout nearly all of Minnesota and often nest in evergreens. Their food includes insects, frogs, mice, seeds and wild fruits. Large flocks may damage grain crops. They like cracked corn at feeders.

The word "grackle" is derived from the Latin word "graculus," meaning "to cough." The bird does have a loud raspy call. Common grackles don't really have a song. We may hear clucks and high-pitched rising screeches like a rusty gate hinge, which in no way can compete with the refined notes of American robins and northern cardinals.