The following is from

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/index.html <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/index.html> 

 

Peace,

Gregory Bennett

Cuyahoga Falls OH

 

Bird Watchers Urgently Needed to Track Rusty Blackbirds

March 26, 2008

 

Populations of Rusty Blackbirds are crashing! Their numbers have plummeted by as much as 85-98% over the last few decades, according to data gathered for the North American Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count between 1966 and 2006. Your data can help save this species by arming scientists with information about these birds during migration. Bird watchers across North America are being asked to help scientists track migrating Rusty Blackbirds from April 1-7 using the eBird online checklist program. Note: Your observations from outside this time frame are also sorely needed, so please enter any and all Rusty Blackbird records into eBird if possible! 

 

A century ago, the Rusty Blackbird was an incredibly abundant bird. Accounts from the period detail spectacular spring migrations between the species' wintering grounds in the bottomland forests of the southeastern United States and its breeding grounds in the forested wetlands of North America's vast boreal forest. Ornithological reports from New England and southern Canada describe waves of tens to hundreds of thousands of Rusty Blackbirds blackening the earth and clouding the sky in the spring. In many communities, the migration of Rusty Blackbirds was likened to the year's first chorus of tree frog--a sign that spring had finally arrived in the thawing countryside. 

Today these reports seem unbelievable since Rusty Blackbirds populations have suffered one of most staggering population declines of any bird in North America. An understanding of the Rusty Blackbird's habitat requirements is urgently needed to conserve its remaining populations. This is especially true during spring migration when Rusty Blackbirds congregate in large flocks which may be particularly vulnerable to habitat losses, blackbird control programs, or other disturbances. Unfortunately, very little is known about the natural history requirements of the Rusty Blackbird during its northward migration.

To address this information gap, eBird is calling on bird watchers for help. April 1-7, look for Rusty Blackbirds on their northward migration. The data collected will help identify important migration stopover locations and habitats for conservation and will help researchers examine whether long-term changes to key migration habitats are responsible for the species' decline. If you are interested in participating, please collect the following information, then submit your data to eBird, taking note of the following: 

1. Date, time, location of the observations. Area, traveling and stationary counts are preferred. Be as precise as possible when mapping your location. 

2. Rusty Blackbird flock size, including an estimate of number of males vs. females.  Answer 'yes' to the question 'do you want to report age/sex or add species comments' at the top of the eBird checklist page. 

3. General behavior: flying, feeding, loafing (day), roosting (dawn, dusk, night). Put these in the species comments field. 

4. Habitat: agricultural field, scrub-shrub wetland, forested wetland, shores of rivers or creeks, shores of lakes or ponds. Put these in general checklist comments field. 

5. Comments: Please include "Rusty Blackbird Survey" in the general checklist comments section so we can determine whether you were specifically looking for Rusty Blackbirds during your birding expedition. 

6. If possible please submit a complete checklist of the birds you identified on your outing, and answer 'yes' to the 'are you reporting all the species you saw/heard' question on the eBird checklist page. This will give us an idea of what other birds were in the area, as well as whether or not Rusty Blackbirds were associating with other blackbirds species during migration. 

 

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