Red-winged blackbirds enjoy breakfasts that snap, crackle, and pop – and that provide a sporting chase. Dragon flies, which are starting to emerge here, are a favorite morning meal for these kings of the cattails.
Redwings mostly eat insects and similar creepers, crawlers, and sliders during the summer. I’ve seen them feeding on, among other things, dragon and damsel flies, wasps, beetles caterpillars, and grasshoppers, as well as spiders and millipedes (arthropods) and snails (gastropods).
During the seasons when insects are dormant, redwings mostly eat seeds and grain. (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on June 2, 2023.)