The Rusty Blackbird, or rather an entire flock of “Rusties”, were spotted in the park a few days ago, and they hung around for approximately 2 days. Not only are these birds especially recognizable because of their rusty coloured winter plumage, but also because their call sounds exactly like a rusty hinge opening!
This time of year, however, we had folks asking if they were some sort of Red-Winged Black bird, but with a brown tinge as opposed to the regular red. In the summer, the males have brown markings down the sides of their heads and and shoulders.
It is a treat to see these birds at all, but fantastic to see this many all together. The Rusty Black bird had one of the sharpest declines of any songbird in North America – 94% of the population disappeared between 1966 and 2010, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. They spend their summers in Canada to breed, and are known to travel all the way to the tips of Alaska from Florida. For more info on these Oxidized Birds of the Night, visit their own website!
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