On December 14, 2022, I spent some time observing a new blackbird in Flynn Park. Its dark but slightly rusty color, pale eye and vocalization very different from Red-winged Blackbirds made me realize these birds were Rusty Blackbirds. I also had to rule out Brewer’s Blackbird and more easily the Common Grackle.
These Rusty Blackbirds were here for the winter. Or at least some were. I saw them most days on my morning walks through Flynn Park, particularly on the northern edge of the park or in the trees just north of it. Sometimes they were high and other times they were feeding in the mowed park grass. I grew to love their calls, somewhat melodious and reminiscent of water sounds but not as much as the Brown-headed Cowbirds which anyway I did not see in winter. I was glad that I ran into a colleague, David Sibley, who also identified them. And of course, Merlin heard and named them.
I saw 50 Rusty Blackbirds on March 3, 2023 and then another 50 on March 26, 2023 in Ruth Park, just as I was leaving. In Ruth Park they flew over to the park and the landed noisily in the trees. I did not stay to see what they would do next. Rad Widmer said he had seen hundreds of Rusty Blackbirds in Forest Park recently.
But now on April 10th I am not seeing so many Rusty Blackbirds. In fact, the last time I saw them was April 7th. How do I know all these numbers and dates so specifically? It is just from looking back at my eBird entries. I love how they compile them. And there I can also see that Rusty Blackbirds should still be in the area, though migration north has surely begun.
I would not think so much of the Rusty Blackbirds, except they are declining severely, down 85 to 95% from 1970 to 2010, according to Birds of the World. They are a hard one to get numbers on because they often mix in with Red-winged Blackbirds and Brewer’s Blackbirds, though the latter misses the easternmost areas. Also, Rusty Blackbirds breed in Canada and Alaska in the magnificent boreal forests. It is an area little covered by Breeding Bird Surveys or eBird records, though there are enough that this is how we know they have declined. And their more southern wintering grounds are covered by Christmas Counts.
I hope to see more Rusty Blackbirds before they are gone for the summer and maybe drive into Canada to see them on their breeding grounds, though they are not dense there and may be hard to find. I’ll look near water in northern bogs and lakes. I will from now on try to pay more attention to the blackbirds, not looking only for the occasional Yellow-headed Blackbird, but also for the more subtle differences of the Rusty and Brewer’s Blackbirds. Every bird matters.
Slow Birding 