Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz

Blitz summary report

After three years of Winter Blitz and three years of Spring Blitz, we have summarized our findings in a report, which you can view or download here:

Evans, Brian. S. 2016.  Summary report: Assessing Rusty Blackbird habitat suitability on wintering grounds and during spring migration using a large citizen-science dataset. Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. 13 pp.

Among other slick figures, the report contains many maps showing Rusty Blackbird “hotspots” during different times of year. The map below shows large (left), medium (center), and small flock sizes during spring migration from March 29th to April 11th.

Key Findings from the Spring Blitz report:

• Model performance increased with increasing flock size but was lower overall than the Winter Blitz.

• Hot spots were predicted in the Southeastern Coastal Plain and throughout the Mississippi River Basin with a distinct line of low suitability across the Appalachian Mountain chain.

• The environmental niche width decreased with increasing flock size.

• As with Winter distributions, minimum temperature had the greatest influence on model predictions;however, the three wetland classes, emergent, woody, and floodplain forest, each contributed to model performance at different sampling periods.

While the three-year effort has concluded, we still encourage all experienced birders to submit your Rusty sightings to eBird!