Have you heard a squeaky-hinge song lately, or seen a flash of rust-tipped
feathers under a bright yellow eye? Although occasionally overlooked as
³just another blackbird,² Rusty Blackbirds face an unfortunate and
remarkable notoriety: this species has endured a decline more severe than
that of any other once-common landbird. In 2014, the International Rusty
Blackbird Working Group, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, eBird, and many other state,
federal, and local partners, launched a three-year Rusty Blackbird Spring
Migration Blitz that challenged birders to scour the landscape for Rusty
Blackbirds during this species¹ northward migration. Between 1 March and 15
June 2014, 4750 birders submitted 13,400 checklists containing Rusty
Blackbird observations to eBird; during the same time period in 2015, 4885
birders submitted 13,919 checklists containing Rusty Blackbird observations.
These first two hugely successful seasons have allowed us to start looking
at potential Rusty Blackbird migratory hotspots, habitat use, and potential
migratory pathways.
We hope you¹ll consider participating in Year 3 the final year of the
Blitz this spring! It¹s easy- bird as you normally do during the Blitz
window in Tennessee which just happens to be the entire month of MARCH. As
always Blitz data information will be collected from all over our state but
this year, we¹d also like birders to revisit Areas of Interest identified
from 2014 and 2015 data to assess the consistency of Rusty Blackbird habitat
use and migratory timing. Check out our map of Areas of Interest for 2015
at
http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/2015-areas-of-interest/
To learn more about Rusty Blackbirds and the Blitz effort, please visit our
Migration Blitz website
(http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/), or check out our
Blitz Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/rustyblackbirdspringblitz).
We hope you¹ll join us to Blitz for Blackbirds this MARCH and as always if
you have any additional question let me know.
<")
( \
/ |` Cyndi Routledge
Rusty Blackbird Blitz Coordinator for Tennessee
Southeastern Avian Research
Specializing in Winter Hummingbird banding
1515 N. Willow Bend Court
Clarksville, TN 37043
931-206-3517
