Red-winged Blackbirds in Kansas

Red-winged Blackbirds live in Kansas all year. Cold, dry winters with strong wind; windbreaks and evergreens are prime roost cover. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward grass seeds and waste grain.

Continental — humid tallgrass Flint Hills in the east to semi-arid shortgrass prairie in the west.

Across Kansas, red-winged blackbirds typically nest from April–July. Nest site: woven cup lashed to cattails or shrubs over water. Females lay 2–4 eggs, incubate for 11–13 days, and young leave the nest after 11–14 days.

Hot summers above 95°F; western Kansas is dry, so water draws birds from far away.

• Red-winged Blackbirds don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as flowering dogwood, serviceberry, white oak for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after July.

Of the regional native plants we track for Kansas, these 8 provide food or cover red-winged blackbirds use:

One of the earliest spring returns in the north; males arrive weeks before females to claim marsh territories.

• Best foods: Cracked corn, Millet, Sunflower.
• In Kansas's winter: Cold, dry winters with strong wind; windbreaks and evergreens are prime roost cover.

Full diet breakdown for red-winged blackbirds · Best feeder for red-winged blackbirds