The female Red-winged Blackbird has been constantly hunting and making frequent trips back to her nest. This signaled to me that her eggs have hatched. This species usually lays 2 to 4 eggs per brood. Sure, enough, there are three chicks in the nest. They look out-of-focus because, while the other material in the frame is still, the new babies are fuzzy and wriggling. Their beaks are pointed to lower left in this photo.
With help of tall boots and a pole for my camera, I was able to peer into the reeds and see the beauty of her architecture skills. Blackbirds wind stringy plant material around several upright stems, then weave in a platform of coarse, wet vegetation. She adds more wet material to shape a cup, plastering the inside with mud. To protect her babies, she lines the cup with fine, dry grasses.
