I encourage folks in Kentucky to participate in this Rusty Blackbird migration count April 1-7, 2008 and report their observations on e-bird. Although Rusty Blackbird populations in Kentucky are patchy as in many of the states on the northern portion of their wintering range, these many small patches of stop-over and wintering habitat may collectively represent an important component of Rusty blackbird habitat and the extent of their importance has yet to be evaluated. Thus, I am interested in implementing a small-scale project next winter/spring which evaluates wintering/migrating Rusty Blackbird occurrence/habitat use in Kentucky. I will be relying heavily on e-bird observations and BIRDKY observations to determine which sites would be best to focus on for this project and would greatly appreciate your participation! Thanks! Kate Kate Heyden Avian Biologist Wildlife Diversity Program KY Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources #1 Sportsman's Lane Frankfort, KY 40601 Phone: (502) 564-7109 ext. 369 Fax: (502) 564 4519 kathryn.heyden@xxxxxx www.fw.ky.gov Did you know... Department of Fish and Wildlife receives NO state tax dollars and manages wildlife for all citizens? Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachment, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender, by e-mail, and destroy all copies of the original message. From: Neotropical migratory birds in southeastern United States discussion list [mailto:SEPART-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dean Demarest Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 10:20 PM To: SEPART-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Fw: Help promoting Rusty Blackbird migration count - April 1-7 2008 FYI on a new attempt to start gathering info on Rusty Blackbird distribution and abundance via citizen science (eBird) . . . April is kind of pushing the envelope for wintering Rusties in the southeast, but for those who typically have them, here's a great opportunity to contribute to a nationwide effort to learn about this declining and difficult-to-monitor blackbird. Dean ----- Forwarded by Dean Demarest/R4/FWS/DOI on 03/26/2008 09:44 PM ----- Brian Sullivan <bls42@xxxxxxxxxxx> 03/26/2008 09:14 PM To Denis_Lepage <dlepage@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Brian_Taber <Taberzz@xxxxxxx>, Taber_Allison <tallison@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Ted_Lee_Eubanks <eubanks@xxxxxx>, Van_Remsen <najames@xxxxxxx>, Spahr_MD_John <Jspahr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Kent_McFarland <kmcfarland@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Andy.Paulios@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Stanley_Senner <ssenner@xxxxxxxxxx>, jeffwells@xxxxxxx, Judy Pollock <jpollock@xxxxxxxxxxx>, miliff@xxxxxxx, Christopher_Wood <pinicola@xxxxxxxxx>, Jillian_Liner <jmb249@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Christopher_Vogel <glaucidium@xxxxxxxxx>, Mizrahi David <dmizrahi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, joe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Pierre_Howard <h_pierre@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Charles_Swift <chaetura@xxxxxxxxx>, mbull@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, COMINS_Patrick <PCOMINS@xxxxxxxxxxx>, sstedman@xxxxxxxxxx, Victor_Fazio <bcvireo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Scott Schuette <sschuette01@xxxxxxxxxxx>, HCybelle@xxxxxxx, Todd Day <BlkVulture@xxxxxxx>, ensifera@xxxxxxx, Dick_Cannings <dickcannings@xxxxxxx>, "Tessler, David F (DFG)" <david.tessler@xxxxxxxxxx>, RJDNC@xxxxxxx, pdickins@xxxxxxxxxxxx, Nate Dias <offshorebirder@xxxxxxxxx>, swmavocet@xxxxxxx, jhengeve@xxxxxxxxxxx, abrees@xxxxxxxxxxx, roseanna@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, rgibbo3@xxxxxxx, ehynes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, sperkins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, byrnea@xxxxxxx, jakenwalker@xxxxxxxx, Ross_Silcock <silcock@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Patrick_Toomey <PToomey@xxxxxxxxxxx>, jason.guerard@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Kenneth_V._Rosenberg" <kvr2@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Sara_Barker <sb65@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Eduardo_Inigo_Elias <eei2@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Sibley David <david_sibley@xxxxxxxxxxx>, dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, GreenbergR@xxxxxx, Dean_Demarest@xxxxxxx, sdroege@xxxxxxxx cc Subject Help promoting Rusty Blackbird migration count All With the help of Steve Matsuoka and the Rusty Blackbird Working Group we've initiated a pilot study of RUBL migration through eBird. In this 'proof of concept' study, we hope birders will get out and look specifically for Rusty Blackbirds, and then report their observations to eBird between 1-7 April . You can read more about it here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/RUBL_Survey.html If all goes well we can better tailor the survey for fall migration, and possibly do some target outreach during winter as well. Any help that you can provide getting the word out about this grassroots effort would be great. Local promotion on the listserves would be a huge help. There is little known about this species during migration, and we feel strongly that eBirders can help fill in some of the gaps in that knowledge. Please forward this information on to others who might be interested in this study. Those of you managing regional eBird portals (e.g, Wisconsin eBird) please feel free to post this news item on your local pages. Please contact me with any questions. Thanks -- ****************************** Brian L. Sullivan Pacific Grove, CA eBird/AKN Project Leader Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850 www.ebird.org www.avianknowledge.net ----------- Photographic Editor Birds of North America Online Cornell Lab of Ornithology www.bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA ----------- Photographic Editor North American Birds American Birding Association www.americanbirding.org (609) 694-3280 ********************************