Ohio Birders,

Where can you find Rusty Blackbirds? Here's some ideas, below:

Find what you need at eBird: log into eBird, select "Submit Observations",
under "observation Type", highlight "other", select the last entry, "Rusty
Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz", find links to form and protocol there!

Please visit a Rusty Blackbird Hotspot near you. Complete the survey
protocol data sheet at the link in eBird:
http://rustyblackbird.org/wp-content/uploads/Rusty-Blackbird-Blitz-2014-data
sheet.pdf.

IMPORTANT: Negative results are important. If you visit a location with
intent to search for RUBL and find none, this is important reportable
information, please complete the form!

Here's a number of hotspots where I find Rusty Blackbirds--these are not
recent sighting locations, but I expect that you will be successful seeing
RUBL's at these locations if you visit them repeatedly during the coming
weeks. If you know of other hotspots, please visit them frequently and
complete the Blitz protocol form when you find them. If you wish to share
your hotspots with me with instructions on how to visit, I'll add them to a
growing list for Ohio and make them available.

Many of these areas and more are Ohio eBird Hotspots (already in the system,
easy to search). You're going to love eBird!
Many of these areas are described here:
http://www.ohiobirds.org/site/library/sites/about.php

My favorite hotspots for Rusty Blackbirds near central Ohio:

Calamus Swamp, Pickaway County, a Columbus Audubon Preserve, wet in Spring
(east side of Route 104, gravel lot, less than a mile south of Route 22 near
Circleville)
Island Road, Pickaway County (from the intersection of Island Road with S.
Western Avenue in the City of Circleville, north to end on Route 23.
Stages Pond State Nature Preserve, Pickaway County (off Hagerty Road. Find
Hagerty road east of Route 23, just north of the end of Island Road, listed
above
Delaware State Wildlife Area, Delaware County (along Leonardsburg Road
between Panhandle Road and 220 north of Delaware Ohio)
Baker Swamp, a TNC Preserve, along Clay Banner Road and Antioch Rd, Jackson
County, Ohio west of R93, south of Jackson, OH.
Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area, Shreve, OH. (see OOS site library link for
details)
Killbuck Swamp area, drive Prairie Rd south from Wooster, OH to Messner
Road, go east to Valley Rd., south along Valley Road to Willow Rd, and so
on, large area (see details at OOS library link above.)
The Western Basin of Lake Erie between Toledo and McGee Marsh is probably
the most populous region in Ohio for migrating Rusty Blackbirds. I usually
have luck at Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area. Search anywhere trees rise from
shallow water, and nearby.
Best of luck to all.


If you are serious about repeat visits to any of these locations not
described in the links above, I will email you a Google Earth link to assist
your effort to get there (contact me offline please).

Tom Bain
OOS Bird Conservation
Ohio Coordinator, Rusty Blackbird Blitz






-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Bain [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2014 2:09 PM
To: 'Tom Bain'; [log in to unmask]
Subject: Official launch for Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz, March
1--please read

Ohio birders,

Rise to the challenge of Rusty Blackbird identification. Tomorrow, Saturday,
March 1, 2014 is Ohio's official launch day (with 22 other states,
additional states launch 3/15) for the Rusty Blackbird Blitz. This is
important because eBird (eBird.org) will make available to you a special
reporting protocol designed to make it easy for you to add needed data about
your Rusty Blackbird sightings. If you have not used eBird in the past, now
is a great time to start using this important free tool for citizen science.
Beginning tomorrow, when you mouse-click the "Submit Observations" button
along the top toolbar, you will have the option to choose the RUBL protocol.
This is very similar to the past effort during fall migration a couple years
ago. If you participated then, you are ready for tomorrow--just review your
RUBL ID skills (I find them by sound, often).

Rusty Blackbirds forage the feathered-edge of woodland pools (if salamanders
like, rusties like it), mucky ground near shrubby wetlands, wetlands of all
sorts, wet wooded flats, farm fields with waste corn, occasionally at
feeders, and, like cowbirds, often with redwing and grackle flocks. Listen
for their calls (tyuk) and soft gurgling, partial or even full songs (ending
in high pitch ascending whistle) amid the raucous clatter of blackbird
flocks.

Russ Greenburg, champion for recognizing and acting upon the 90%+ decline in
RUBL populations in the past forty years described Rusty Blackbirds as
"champion leaf-tossers." Rusties walk along, ankle deep, and search sticks,
leaves, logs and debris with deliberate intensity, often nudging and
flipping debris in search of invertebrates, acorns, and the like.

We lost Russ to illness recently, but his determined effort to resolve
causes and solutions for the decline of rusties goes on through research by
an excellent team of scientists and through your personal efforts.

Let's go find rusties and get them reported using the new protocol.

Good birding

Tom Bain
OOS Conservation


-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tom
Bain
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 7:16 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Rusty Blackbird 'Spring' Migration Blitz

Calling all birders!

They're baaack... a trickle of Rusty Blackbirds, our declining woodland
"shorebird" is returning northward. The McNulty's report early arrivals
below. I recorded my first individual bird yesterday calling with a duo of
redwings in a backyard tree.

You can help researchers better understand the poorly understood spring
movement of this species by reporting you observations in detail using
eBird. Please report all RUBL sightings. Researchers seek additional data
about habitats, associations, group sizes, locations, etc.

Online resources are available to assist you. Start here:
http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/

You may need to type the location directly into your browser, or just search
"Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz" More later...

Tom Bain
OOS Bird Conservation Chair

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bob
and Elaine McNulty
Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2014 9:31 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Rusty blackbirds in Gahanna

We had at least 8 rusty blackbirds in the field and in our tree line behind
our house (a benefit of having a soggy, leafy natural area) They shared the
field with a large number of robins, red winged blackbirds, starlings and
flickers.

We have also observed a pair of red shouldered hawks calling and circling
above our subdivision for several days now.   Mostly along Venetian Way or
Riva Ridge Blvd.

Bob and Elaine McNulty

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Please consider joining our Society, at
www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
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Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]