By LEE WARD / The Independent
ITHACA, NY — The Tri-State area might be the place to be for Rusty Blackbirds in the coming weeks.
If so, birdwatchers will be hopping and researchers are hoping for their help.
The second annual Rusty Blackbird Blitz will begin Saturday and continue through Feb. 15. During this time, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society are asking volunteers to report sightings of the birds with “staring.” In late January and early February, males will appear mostly black and females will have rusty edges to the wings and body.
The population of North American Rusty Blackbirds has plummeted an estimated 85 to 99 percent in the past 40 years. Although the exact cause for this decline is not clear, loss of habitat is one likely reason. Data gathered during the blitz will be used to create a map of wintering Rusty Blackbird “hot spots” and will help focus research, monitoring, and conservation efforts.
“We’re looking for date, location, the time you began each survey, how long you were birding, and how far you traveled,” eBird co-leader Brian Sullivan said. “It’s important to submit your observations even if you don’t see any Rusty Blackbirds. Negative data are incredibly valuable and still tell us a lot.”
In addition to Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, the focus of the blitz is on other states known to be the winter home of the Rusty Blackbird, including Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, eastern Texas and Virginia.
Unlike other species of blackbirds, the Rusty Blackbird inhabits boreal wetlands of the far north during the breeding season and spends its winters in bottomland wooded-wetlands, primarily in American midwestern and southeastern states. Despite its drastic decline, there is no monitoring program specially for these birds.
Two other species are more common and are sometimes mistaken for the rusty. The Common Grackle is larger with a long tail and larger bill. The female Red-winged Blackbird also resembles the rusty but can be distinguished by bold streaking on its underparts, whereas the rusty has plain underparts without streaks.
LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.
