One of the things I love about running at Horseshoe Lake is hearing the red-winged blackbirds sing along Fishermen’s Lane. (See my post Where I Go to Start Over.) You can hear them in this video. There’s a cardinal singing in there too.

The song of the red-winged blackbird takes me back to my childhood in rural Warren County, New Jersey. These blackbirds were common sights throughout the many fields, pastures, and wetlands in our area. You don’t find red-winged blackbirds in the woods. They like the open fields like bluebirds do. They like to sit on tall weeds, trees near the fields, electric wires. I remember riding in my mom’s baby blue Ford Falcon past the horse farm on Jackson Valley Road with the sound of Dopplered red-winged blackbird song whizzing by the open windows. Their song has always been one of my favorites. As kids we always felt rewarded when we spotted these blackbirds sporting red and yellow feathers on their wings, so much more exciting than your run-of-the-mill average plain-winged blackbirds.

Feel free to hang out here on this page and listen to the red-winged blackbirds. The video loops automatically. Stay all day if you wish.