Step 1: Stake out territory.
Step 2: Build the nest.
Step 3: Lay some eggs.
Step 4: Hatch the eggs.
Step 5: Feed the hatchlings.
Step 6: Guard them.
Step 7: Watch them brave leaving the nest.
Step 8: Feed them.
Step 9: Guard them.
Step 10: Watch them grow.
Step 11: Feed them.
Step 12: Guard them.
Whether successful or not, rinse and repeat. Red-winged Blackbirds may produce 1-3 broods a season.
With the birds I watched, in one area, while males would defend their territories from other birds, and might help try to chase away humans that got too close, they didn’t actively help feed the babies. In a nearby area, however, a male was both extremely aggressive towards anyone and anything that came close to the nest or fledgelings and also helped to feed the young. It’s been very interesting to watch the behaviour.
Little fluffy bodies are starting to pop up in various places around nesting sites, are straying farther from their nests and are becoming less fluffy as the days pass. Parents are expending a lot of energy in both feeding and trying to protect their young, who don’t quite understand the dangers of the giants that are walking very close to their perches – and, no doubt, other critters in the marsh. Fortunately for them, most people are pretty clueless when walking in places were nature is permitted to exist.