Red-Wings and Buzzers

Spring has really sprung in Chicagoland. It is evident with the arrival of the red-winged blackbirds and the early cicadas.

I am sure if I was up and more alert at this time last year that I would have seen the beautiful birds and the first infestation of the buzzing cicadas. (A cicada looks similar to a locust, but it has a larger body and is more colorful.

I feel bad for the early cicadas because they will be devoured by the birds and dogs as they venture out of their underground burrows; however do not feel too bad for the industrious and noisy insects. Soon there will be so many of them around, the dogs and birds will be sick of eating them, and then all the male cicadas will sing; and the stereophonic buzzing will sound like a den of rattlesnakes.

I saw my first sighting of a red-winged blackbird a few weeks ago. It was sitting on the tip of cattail and I would have totally missed the little black bird, but it hopped off the plant and I immediately saw the bright red feathers. It was the most beautiful little bird I have seen in a long time. When Lynn and I were driving up to Madison, Wisconsin, I saw oodles of red-winged blackbirds off the freeways defending their small territories. The birds nests in marshes, cattails, fields, etc. They migrate from the Southern states and Mexico around March to the Northern states, including Aurora, IL, in swarms. They will migrate back to their warmer climates in the fall.

It is raining today in Chicagoland. With the arrival of the cicadas, along with the red-winged blackbirds, and the rain, it feels like spring!

-Shelly