A Theory

 
Verona, Wisconsin, May 10, 2015. Did the crane family decide to leave because the birds tired of the pesky red-winged blackbirds?

Here's a red-winged blackbird about to land on Mama Crane:

Here's one after it landed:

Territorial Work

Verona, Wisconsin, July 2014. The red-winged blackbird engages the intruder.

The Red-Winged Blackbird

Mr. Irene and I have had a house visitor for the last few weeks. A red-winged blackbird decided that a rival lives on the other side of our porch windows. The blackbird struts and puffs along the deck railings, posturing and squawking at his imagined threat. Occasionally, he pecks at the glass; sometimes he rams into it.

A friend of ours—not someone in the vicinity—concurrently is experiencing the same problem. It's a misery that her blackbird has imagined its combatant in a bedroom window.  

We searched for solutions to the problem. Nothing has worked perfectly to dissuade the blackbird. He started returning to the battle site less often, however, after Mr. Irene hung strips of aluminum foil on the windows.

Here's a group of blackbirds in our yard chasing off real threats—hawks:

(Rex provided the sound effects.)

Feeder Reunion, in Three Takes

Verona, Wisconsin, May 2012. The male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak feeds alone.

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Verona, Wisconsin, May 2012. The Finches arrive in groups.

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Verona, Wisconsin, May 2012. The Red-Winged Blackbird is here! "Emergency, everybody to get from street."