Virginia

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 “just another blackbird,” Rusty Blackbirds face an unfortunate and remarkable notoriety: this species has endured a decline more severe than that of any other once-common landbird. Last year, the International Rusty Blackbird Working Group, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Vermont Center of Ecostudies, eBird, and the Virginia Society of Ornithology, launched a three-year Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz that challenged birders to scour the landscape for Rusty Blackbirds during this species’ northward migration. Between March 1 and June 15, 4750 birders across Canada and the US submitted 13,400 checklists containing Rusty Blackbird observations to eBird.

It was a hugely successful first season that has allowed us to start looking at potential Rusty Blackbird migratory hotspots, habitat use, and potential migratory pathways.

We hope you’ll consider participating in Year 2 of the Blitz this spring! It’s easy – bird as you normally do during the same Blitz window as last year (given above) and submit your data to eBird using the “Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz” observation type which will appear on eBird data entry portals after March 1. Last year we here in Virginia collected data primarily during the month of March. This year we’d like to make sure we collect data through the middle of June so we don’t miss any Rusties. We’re still after any Rusty Blackbird data from anywhere in Virginia, but this year, we’d like birders to revisit Areas of Interest identified from 2014 data to assess the consistency of Rusty Blackbird habitat use and migratory timing.

Check out our map of Areas of Interest for 2015 at this site (zoom in to see Virginia).

For information about identifying Rusty Blackbirds, details about which habitat they particularly like, and the Blitz effort, please visit our Migration Blitz website or check out our Blitz Facebook page.

We hope you’ll join us to Blitz for Blackbirds this spring!