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Rusty Blackbirds have suffered serious decline, as much as 88-98% over the past 40 years. Possible causes include winter habitat conversion and persecution from blackbird control programs. The International Rusty Blackbird Technical Working Group is seeking sightings data to find the locations of Rusty Blackbirds' wintering habitat. To that end, the working group and eBird have organized a Rusty Blackbird Blitz from February 7-15, 2009.
Volunteers are asked to visit local sites where they have found Rusty Blackbirds in the past, or that appear to be appropriate habitat, to search for this species during the nine-day period. If the blackbirds are found, report the results to eBird following the blitz protocol. It will be helpful to review the instructions before going birding, as the working group is seeking more information than the usual eBird submission entails.
The link includes other useful resources, such as identification information and links to audio recordings.
