The Rusty Blackbird

I typically don’t create a post without a decent photo to illustrate the subject matter. However, this time I don’t have a photo. Still, I think it’s worth sharing this information.

AllAboutBirds.org website states: “Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause.”

For that reason, it’s worth sharing their arrival to our property – which was probably as they were migrating north to their breeding grounds in Canada. They are described as spending the winter in the Eastern United States, which is where we reside.

As I was entering the north Pond Meadow, I heard the calls of many birds that were actually impossible for me to spot in the shadows and dense branches of a tall stand of Osage Orange trees. It’s not uncommon during Spring and Fall migration for me to come upon large flocks of birds, like this group of Red-winged Blackbird females (with a male Brown-headed Cowbird in the middle) that I spotted not too long ago.

To reiterate, the photo above is of Red-winged Blackbirds taken 3/29/23, not the Rusty Blackbirds.

When I heard a flock of birds on 4/2/23 I used the Merlin App to identify the species. It was the Rusty Blackbird. Here are two screenshots of those IDs. On 3/29/23 I captured the Rusty Blackbird vocalization in a different part of our property, and I don’t think it was multiple birds. The second Merlin screenshot is from when I heard the large flock on 4/2/23:

I recorded the Rusty Blackbird calls, which I have posted here:

The clarity of the video and the speed of the birds in flight prohibits me from be certain these are Rusty Blackbirds. Perhaps someone with more experience can determine whether the flock I captured in the video below contains Rusty Blackbirds. It was shot in the same general area and about 5 minutes after I captured the recording above. Merlin identifies Red-winged Blackbirds and Rusty Blackbird vocalizations in the video, as well as an Eastern Meadowlark (the latter would not be flying in such a large flock.)

I’m happy to know that this declining species was able to stop by and rest before they travel to their breeding grounds.