Today is the first day of the Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz in Minnesota. I urge you to keep your eyes out for this species and report it to www.eBird.org. If you missed my introductory e-mail from a couple of weeks ago, here it is (and updated):
The Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz is taking place again this year between March 15 and April 15 in Minnesota. While much research has been done on the boreal breeding grounds, biologists know little about its migratory habits. The purpose of this blitz is to identify critical migration sites across its entire migration route. Anyone birding in Minnesota during the aforementioned period should submit all their Rusty Blackbird observations to www.eBird.org. When reporting on eBird, make sure you select "Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz" under "Other" on the Date and Effort page, even if you did NOT observe any Rusty Blackbirds. *Please note that the MOU Seasonal Report database does not transfer observations on to eBird, therefore you must use eBird so your observations can be used by the International Rusty Blackbird Working Team. If you are uncomfortable using eBird, PLEASE let me know and I will be more than happy to assist you! If you're interested, check out these Minnesota "Areas of Interest" for Rusty Blackbirds this spring (as identified from last year's blitz): http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/2015-areas-of-interest/. Free birding trips led by Craig Mandel ([email protected]) focusing on Rusty Blackbirds are at these Metro locations this spring: Old Cedar Avenue Bridge (Bloomington) on March 21, 23, and 30 at 8:00am Rapids Lake Unit (Carver) on April 11 and 19 at 8:00am Also, we are competing with Wisconsin again to see which state finds the most Rusty Blackbirds this spring. The winning state gets a Rusty Blackbird carving to display publicly (for us it would probably be at the Bell Museum in Minneapolis). Wisconsin won last year, but we can make a comeback and win this year! More information, including (optional) data sheets and identification tips, can be found here: http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/. If you have any questions about the blitz, or how to use eBird, feel free to e-mail your Minnesota state coordinators, Brittney Larson ( [email protected]) or me ([email protected]). Lastly, I ask that you pass along the blitz information to birders who don't read these list-serve posts. I have a flyer that I can e-mail you to distribute if you so wish. Thank you, and good luck on your Rusty Blackbird searches! Alyssa DeRubeis Huntsville, AR ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
