vegan protein shake on the back porch and got out my binoculars to notice about 30 strange birds rummaging about in the branches and on the ground on the edge of our little woods. I had never seen this type before. They were kind of big and rounded, brownish, speckled on their chests, with stripes over their eyes. I googled these features, found a candidate picture, and clicked on 12 Birds Every Texan Should Know.

When I saw

Red Wing Blackbird I thought they had the wrong picture! Till I read the description.

CD

Wikipedia explains why there were 30 females and no males in my woods.

“Females typically migrate longer distances than males. These female populations located near the Great Lakes migrate nearly 230 km farther. Red-winged blackbirds migrate primarily during daytime. In general, males’ migration flocks arrive prior to females in the spring and after females in the fall.”