Protecting, Restoring, and Enhancing Tricolored Blackbird Habitat on Agricultural Lands through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program

Abstract

The 2014 Statewide Tricolored Blackbird Survey, a volunteer-based triennial survey to monitor Tricolored Blackbird population trends and habitat associations, documented a 44% decline in the species’ population since 2011 (Meese 2014). The population decline demonstrates the need to reduce Tricolored Blackbird mortality and provide secure nesting habitat. The 2014 Statewide Survey found 38% of Tricolored Blackbirds nesting in triticale, a wheat-rye hybrid grown for forage on dairies (Meese 2014).