For Immediate UseContact: Garrison Frost
May 1, 2008(323) 951-9620

Tulare County, California – Audubon California today announced that it has reached an agreement with a farmer in Tulare County to safeguard a single colony of about 80,000  Tricolored Blackbirds – nearly a third of the world’s population of this declining songbird.

The estimated global population of Tricolored Blackbirds is approximately 250,000 to 300,000 birds, with at least 95 percent of these occurring in California. Tricolored Blackbirds form just a few large nesting colonies each year, and in most cases these occur in San Joaquin Valley triticale fields. This puts the colonies in grave danger when farmers cultivate the field before young birds are able to fly.

“This is really a great victory for conservation, and an example of how conservation and agricultural interests can work together to find real solutions,” said Graham Chisholm, director of conservation for Audubon California. “The Tricolored Blackbird is an important part of California’s natural beauty, and this agreement, combined with other conservation measures, will help to ensure that it has a healthy future.”

Through a cooperative agreement with Audubon California, the farmer will delay the harvest of 160 acres where the colony has established a nesting colony. This delay will provide enough time for the young to leave the nest, ensuring the success of the state’s largest breeding colony. Because the delay in harvesting will reduce the market value of the crop, Audubon California has agreed to compensate the farmer for any lost value.

“Audubon is grateful that this farmer was willing work with us to craft a solution to save this mega-colony of Tricolored Blackbirds,” said Chisholm. “We’ve found that the more we talk about these issues, the more we understand that we don’t necessarily have to choose between the protection of important species and the economic interests of farming communities.”

The situation in Tulare County came to fore when Dave Hardt and Scott Frazer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Kern National Wildlife Refuge alerted Audubon California about the need to conserve the colony, and then helped to negotiate a voluntary agreement with the farmer who wished to remain anonymous. 

“Private landowners are key to this species’ survival,” said Dave Hardt, manager of the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. “While I hope that in the coming years we can continue to restore wetlands for breeding by Tricolored Blackbirds, agricultural lands remain an important ingredient to this bird’s future.”

Tricolored Blackbirds have declined dramatically in the past century as native wetland habitat has been lost in California. Tricolored Blackbirds often nest in agricultural fields, making them vulnerable to reproductive failure when the fields are harvested before the young birds fledge. Public and private land managers are working to manage habitat for Tricolored Blackbirds in order to encourage the birds to nest in wetlands and other secure habitats as opposed to agricultural fields.

Audubon California is part of a statewide working group, including public agencies, farmer and rancher organizations, conservation organizations, researchers from UC Davis and others to develop a comprehensive strategy to protect Tricolored Blackbirds.

The funding for this agreement was made possible thanks to private funds and a grant from the California Department of Fish and Game through the Landowner Incentive Program.

About Audubon California

Audubon California is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. With more than 50,000 members in California and an affiliated 48 local Audubon chapters, Audubon California is a field program of Audubon. This relationship links Audubon California to a national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engaging millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation.

More information is available at www.ca.audubon.org.