When?

30 January - 15 February, 2010. This is when Rusty Blackbirds become easier to find ( males sing!) and the population is relatively sedentary.

What?

During a single 17-day period, volunteers will search for Rusty Blackbirds (particularly flocks or concentrations) in any potentially suitable locations or habitats. We will revisit areas of concentration in the future to determine if they are indeed Rusty Blackbird hotspots.

Where?

We focus on the following states known to comprise the Rusty Blackbird winter range: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (east), Virginia, and West Virginia.

Why?

Rusty blackbird populations have fallen steeply, with estimates of an 85-99% population drop over the past 40 years. Although no one knows the cause for this alarming decline, winter habitat loss and degradation are likely candidates. Rusties are getting scarce and patchy in their winter distribution, making it difficult to focus the research and management we need to save the species.

To address this information gap, eBird and the Rusty Blackbird Working Group are calling on birders for help. We are enlisting the power of the birding public (you!) to help locate local, but predictable wintering concentrations of Rusty Blackbirds. We are mobilizing an all-out "blitz" to locate Rusty Blackbirds and create a map of wintering Rusty Blackbird hotspots that will help focus research, monitoring and conservation attention.

Who?

Birders from across all of the Rusty Blackbird's winter range.

How?

It’s simple! Use whatever you like—your database of previous sightings, birding intuition, local legend, or local knowledge—to search the most likely places for wintering Rusty Blackbirds. You can go wherever you like, whenever you like, and as often as you like anytime between 30 January and 15 February, 2010. We are simply looking for the number of birds present at each location, along with very basic habitat information. All you have to do is submit your observations (or lack thereof) via eBird. We will do the rest!

Rusty Blackbird Hot Spot Blitz Protocol

The idea of the Rusty Blackbird Hot Spot Blitz 30 January -15 February, 2010 is to harness the observational power of the birding community to learn more about Rusty Blackbirds. Researchers are interested in knowing where, when, and how many Rusty Blackbirds you see, as well as more specific information about habitat and sex.

Recording Your Field Observations

The field protocol for the Rusty Blackbird Blitz is simple: get out to your local birding areas and record the birds you see, but also tell us how you went birding. We're not telling birders to survey specific areas. Instead we'd like you to look for Rusties in areas you think might be appropriate. Wet woods are a good start!

We're asking birders to do traveling counts at each location to survey for Rusty Blackbirds. Traveling counts can be short, or longer, but preferably always 5 miles or less. The length is up to you, just make sure to record it and tell us the distance traveled during data entry. Counts should be conducted on foot where possible, and might consist of walking a nature trail, or birding at your local park.

If birding by car, consider getting out of the car and conducting a count at periodic intervals, or wherever you want to count birds. It is important to record your location as accurately as possible, and plot your point at the mid-point of your traveling survey. So if you covered 1 mile on foot, plot your location at .5 miles.

Try to stay away from countywide surveys, or excessively long traveling counts. An important factor for understanding the needs of Rusty Blackbirds is understanding the habitat they use, and by sampling smaller areas, we can better link the birds you see with the habitat on the ground.

The idea of the survey is to find Rusty Blackbirds, but we strongly recommend that you record all the species you observe. This will give the context within which Rusty Blackbirds are observed. It also provides a snapshot of the overall avifauna of the area sampled, and helps generate baseline data for all species.

Providing numbers (or estimates) for each species is also very helpful, much like the Christmas Bird Count, but don't let that distract you from searching for Rusty Blackbirds as your primary target.

Record your observations in the field (you may print and use the data forms provided), making sure to include the following information: date, location, the time you began each survey, how long you were birding, and how far you traveled.

If you encounter Rusty Blackbirds, be sure to record the number of birds (flock size) and how you generated that number (estimate vs. direct count of individual birds). It is also highly recommended that you record the following information relating to your observations of Rusty Blackbirds, if you are able to do so:

• Number of males and females
• Habitat where encountered: field, lawn, forest, impoundment (with or without trees), river/creek/lake edge, pecan farm, other (specify). You may also provide your own habitat description
• Ground wetness: dry, moist, patchy flooding, fully flooded
• Behavior: feeding on ground, feeding in trees or shrubs, feeding in water, loafing, staging to roost, roosting, or flying. If feeding, any information on food items would be helpful
• Vocalization: call notes, song, both, neither

In addition to rusty blackbird data, recording the following information is preferable if it is possible to do so. Record each species encountered (numbers for each species are also appreciated). For all blackbird species, record the number of birds (flock size) and how you generated that number (estimate vs. direct count of individual birds).

Once you've collected the data, visit eBird (www.eBird.org) to submit your observations, and choose "Rusty Blackbird Blitz" as the protocol choice on the data entry pages. Note: It's important to submit your observations even if you didn't find rusty blackbirds! Negative data are incredibly valuable and tell us a lot if you specifically went out searching for Rusty Blackbirds and did not find any.

Data Forms:

• PDF format

Submitting Your Data To eBird

eBird (www.ebird.org) is an online tool that allows birders to keep track of their personal records while making them available to scientists. If you already have an eBird account you can simply log in and enter your data. If you are a new eBird user, you'll have to click the "Register as a new user" link at the top of the page to create an account.

Step 1

Once you're registered you can simply click on the "Submit Observations" tab at the top of the page.

The first question is "Where did you bird?" If you have coordinates for your location simply click the "Use latitude and longitude" option. If not, use the "Find it on a map" tool to plot as accurately as possible the location where you collected your data. You can quickly zoom in to a county by filling out the 'county' and 'state' options. Zoom in as far as possible using the tools at the upper left, remembering that the more accurately you plot your location the better.

The red markers on the map represent 'eBird hotspots' or public birding locations from which others have submitted data. You can click directly on those markers to select one, or simply click on the map to create a new location. A new marker will appear at your new location. Click the map again to reposition the marker as you see fit. Don't forget to name the location in the box above! Click 'Continue' when you're satisfied.

Step 2

This is the "Date and Effort" page that helps us understand 'how' you went birding. Select the "Rusty Blackbird Blitz" protocol from the options at the top. Then fill in your date, start time, duration, and most importantly, 'distance covered'. Number of observers and elevation are optional, but please record these if possible.

Step 3

This the fun part! This is the eBird checklist page. After you tell eBird when and where you were birding, it will give a checklist to fill out of the 'most probable' species to occur in the area on the given date and location. At the top of the checklist page there are two very important questions.

The first is 'Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you saw/heard?' This is a critical question, and here's what it means: We want to find out whether you are reporting all the birds you were able to identify to the best of your ability. Answer "Yes" to this question when you submit more than just the highlights of your birding event, and try to note every species present (even Starlings and House Sparrows). We realize that not all birds are identifiable and that user abilities vary. You should always answer 'yes' to this question unless you are purposefully excluding species from your list. You do not need to count all individuals to answer 'yes' to this question.

The second question is "Do you want to report age/sex information or add species comments?" Answer 'yes' to this question if you were able to collect data on the number of male and female Rusty Blackbirds.

Next enter the numbers for each species you saw or heard into the corresponding boxes on the checklist page. If you don't have numbers an 'x' will do to indicate presence. If you did not encounter any Rusty Blackbirds, it is important that you report this information by answering 'yes' to the 'All observations reported' question, but leaving the Rusty Blackbird box empty.

Click 'Continue' when you're satisfied. On the next page you can record sex for Rusty Blackbirds, and provide more information about your Rusty observations in the comments field for that species. We are asking observers to record the following in the comments field.

• Flock size (very important) and how you derived that number (estimate vs. direct count of individual birds). Please also fill this information out for other blackbird species encountered, if you were able to collect it.
• Number of males and females
• Habitat: field, lawn, forest, impoundment (with or without trees), creek edge, pecan farm, other (specify)
• Ground wetness: dry, moist, patchy flooding, fully flooded
• Behavior: Feeding on ground, feeding in trees or shrubs, feeding in water, loafing, staging to roost, roosting, or flying. If feeding any information on food items would be good.
• Vocalization: call notes, song, both, neither

When you're finished click 'Continue' at the bottom of the page.

Step 4

This is a simple confirmation page where you can check over your submission for accuracy. When you are satisfied click 'Submit' at the bottom of the page. Check the 'email me this report' box if you'd like a copy of the submission sent to you.

Step 5

Go to 'My eBird' to see your results, and to have fun exploring your lists. These get better over time as you add more data!

Repeat this process for each discrete location you sampled for Rusty Blackbirds. The general rule is that more checklists from more refined locations is better.

Additional Resources

Identification and Photo Gallery

Overview

Rusty Blackbirds are uncommon blackbirds typically found in wooded swamps and damp forests. Increasingly, however, as this habitat is lost to development, they can be found in flooded agricultural fields and even on suburban lawns--habitats more typically associated with the similarly plumaged Brewer's Blackbird. While habitat should be taken into consideration when making blackbird identifications, care is needed, so please use the field marks below to help confirm your ID.

Rusty Blackbirds are often heard before they are seen, and then have a distinctive song. It has been likened to a rusty door hinge. You can hear a sample of it at All About Birds.

During spring, male Rusty Blackbirds are mostly blackish with females having more rusty edges to the wings and body. Two other species are more abundant and sometimes mistaken for Rusty Blackbirds. The Common Grackle is larger with a relatively long, keeled tail and larger bill. Males are iridescent, showing complex colors of purple, green and gold. The female Red-winged Blackbird could also be mistaken for a Rusty, but has bold streaking on the underparts, whereas the underparts of both sexes of Rusty Blackbird are plain. Brewer's Blackbirds are much more similar to Rusty Blackbirds overall, but are typically found in open fields and agricultural areas, not in wet woods, and are rare across much of eastern of North America. Rusty Blackbird usually appears thinner-billed and shorter-tailed than Brewer's Blackbird, and they have shorter legs. Female Brewer's Blackbirds usually have dark eyes, while Rusty Blackbirds have "staring" pale eyes.

Spring Plumage

Two male (right) and one female (left) Rusty Blackbird ground foraging. Note the male's overall blacker coloration, and the female's brighter rusty plumage.
^©Ron Howard

Male Rusty Blackbirds acquire their black plumage through wear over the course of the winter and spring. Fall males are the brightest, fringed with rusty overall. By mid-winter and early spring most look like this, largely blackish with some rusty fringes remaining.
^©Nick Anich

By April most males will be nearly all black, with rusty fringes evident only at close range. Note the short tail and staring yellow eye. The lack of iridescence helps separate this species from all Grackles and Brewer's Blackbird.
^©Mary Kay Rubey

Spring females are more rusty than males, generally with unstreaked grayish underparts and a mix of dark and rusty above. Note the bright yellow eye, and often notable dark cheek patch.
^©Mary Kay Rubey

Confusing spring females can be told from all other blackbirds by their rusty fringed tertials--the feathers in this view of the inner-wing that overlay the lower back and rump. Brewer's generally lack this field mark, as do all Grackles and Cowbirds. Female Red-winged Blackbirds are boldly streaked below, and should cause little confusion.
^©Ron Howard

Summer Plumage

Singing male Rusty Blackbird on Alaskan breeding grounds. By summer males are entirely black, but typically lack the glossy iridescence of other similar species.
^©David Shaw--www.wildimagephoto.com

Adult female Rusty Blackbird on Alaskan breeding grounds. Note overall grayish coloration and staring yellow eye.
^©David Shaw--www.wildimagephoto.com

Fall Plumage

In fall freshly molted Rusty Blackbirds are at the height of their brightness. Young birds and females are most colorful, while the black summer plumage of males is veiled in the rusty tips of fresh fall feathers, giving them an overall rusty hue.
^©Ron Howard

Habits

Look for Rusty Blackbirds on migration flying overhead in flocks as well as stopping off at local wet woodlands. They sometimes join other blackbirds during migration, so be careful when distinguishing them from the more common species.
^©Mary Kay Rubey

During migration and winter Rusty Blackbirds can often be found feeding around the edge of water, typically bogs, ponds or wet woods.
^©Nick Anich

To learn more about the Rusty Blackbirds visit the following webs sites:

International Rusty Blackbird Technical Working Group at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center

Boreal Songbird Initiative at http://www.borealbirds.org/

Save Our Boreal Birds at http://www.saveourborealbirds.org/

Much of the narrative of this news item was contributed by Rusty Blackbird Working Group member Steve Matsuoka--thanks Steve!

Thanks also to David Shaw, Nick Anich, Mary Kay Rubey and Ron Howard for use of their excellent images in the photo gallery.

Now get out there and count some Rusty Blackbirds!

Team eBird