Red-winged Blackbirds in Texas

Red-winged Blackbirds live in Texas all year. Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward grass seeds and waste grain.

Humid subtropical in the east and along the Gulf, semi-arid to arid in the west; long, hot summers and short, mild winters over most of the state.

Across Texas, red-winged blackbirds typically nest from March–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.

Afternoon highs regularly exceed 95°F — nest boxes need shade or light-colored, ventilated construction, and water matters as much as food.

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

Of the regional native plants we track for Texas, 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 Texas's winter: Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold.

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