 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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0.404 (0.00548 - 0.812)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Red-winged Blackbirds were observed in over 2,270 atlas squares making it the species observed in the greatest number of squares. A familiar and ubiquitous denizen of wetlands from the Boreal Transition ecoregion southward, they reach their highest relative abundance in the eastern portion of the Aspen Parkland. North of the Boreal Transition, Red-winged Blackbirds quickly become less prevalent on the landscape, absent entirely from the Selwyn Lake Upland. An expedition on the McFarlane river in the Athabasca Plain revealed Red-winged Blackbirds in 18 of the 23 squares traversed, including evidence of probable and confirmed breeding in 12 squares, contrasting with a single observation of a lone bird made along the Lake Athabasca shore. Red-winged Blackbirds proved relatively easy to confirm as breeders. Nest building behaviour was observed as early as 17 May and the first fledged young were seen as early as 12 June.
Note: During all years of the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas drought conditions persisted and the Atlas range maps for all waterfowl, waterbirds, and wetland-associated species should be viewed as characteristic of distribution and abundance during dry conditions. Read the full drought statement here.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
In spring males arrive early, often staking out their territory before the ice is off the prairie sloughs. The females, dramatically different in appearance, do not appear until several weeks later. Red-winged Blackbirds nest from central Alaska to Newfoundland south through the US and Mexico to Costa Rica, and they winter from southeastern Alaska and extreme southern Canada southward.
Red-winged Blackbirds commonly occupy cattail and bulrush marshes and the brushy edges of lakes and watercourses. However, they breed in a variety of habitats, particularly in drought years, including upland shrubbery, farm shelterbelts, and urban parkland. In migration they frequently forage in agricultural fields and other open country, returning to roost noisily in large marshes.
The Red-winged Blackbird is an abundant summer resident throughout the grassland, parkland, and southern boreal forest zones. It is also locally common near waterways and wetlands in the northern boreal forest and subarctic region. The Red-winged Blackbird has expanded its range northward; it was absent from the north shore of Lake Athabasca in 1920 but common there in 1960 (Houston and Houston 1997).
Original text by Christopher J. Escott. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Red-winged Blackbird in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Red-winged Blackbird in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=RWBL&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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