As an aside, I haven’t seen a red-winged blackbird since the early 90s.
Red wing blackbirds seem to be doing ok here. I hear them a lot in migration and have seen them staking out territory in dry fields not just marshes.
They seem to display less in summer than in spring.
There's no shortage of them here in S.E. Michigan and they're all at my house. Along with the grackles and cowbirds, they've scared away the goldfinches and chickadees that would come to my bird feeders.
The chickadees, which were here all winter, disappeared in the spring upon the arrival of the red wing blackbirds.
As for the cowbirds, last year was the first year I started noticing them and their numbers this year have increased tremendously. I've been shooting them with my pellet rifle whenever I can.
They are all over here.