We received the following question from a member about our Tricolored Blackbird campaign and thought we would share it and our response in case anyone else had the same question:

Q: I received this email and have pondered on it since. I'll start by saying I'm an engaged birder and loyal (Davis) chapter member. But I think the information about the farmer's dilemma here is not factually/scientifically based. Crops that are harvested by about this time each year--early June--are limited to wheat varieties. That's the only place where there might be any cross-over with tri-colored blackbirds' nests, but I have a hard time picturing that. (the other species of blackbirds which nest in my wheat are fledged and gone before now--much less harvest time.) It has been my experience that tri-colors nest much more often in marshy areas where there is sub-water (an unlikely wheat growing area) or around rice checks: these are only being PLANTED at this time; harvest doesn't occur until October. Can you clarify what it is that I'm missing here?

A: These are excellent questions and the fact that you are knowledgeable about timing of crops makes it easy to explain the current dilemma facing the Tricolored Blackbirds. Much of the conflict with harvest times and Tricolored Blackbird nesting is taking place in the Tulare Basin (Tulare and Kern Counties) and southern San Joaquin Valley (Merced, Fresno Counties). Much of the wheat grown in these areas is being chopped as silage for dairy cows and the schedule for harvest in typically late April-early May. The Tricolored Blackbird colonies in this area actually start nesting at the beginning of April to mid-April and therefore come face to face with the harvest schedule just as they are feeding their nestlings. A lot of our efforts over the past five years have been to protect those colonies that are in danger of being harvested, and have been pretty effective at getting the cooperation of the farmers to delay the harvest until the birds have finished. As you may know the moisture and protein content of the wheat can change rapidly as the grain matures and Audubon basically compensates the farmers for loss of quality and potential yield caused by the delay and we receive a healthy bunch of baby Tricolors in return.

As to your other question of Tricolored Blackbirds nesting mainly in marshy areas and along rice checks, yes, this is typically more true in the Sacramento Valley, but during the bird’s first breeding attempt in the southern San Joaquin we estimate that over 43% of the global population can be found in winter wheat and is threatened by the harvest. There are other issues that we deal with in the Sacramento Valley, Yolo County is a hot spot for Tricolors, where we ensure that landowners are not mowing weedy patches that Tricolors have started to nest in and working with wetland managers to make sure wetlands are flooded later into the spring to accommodate and support late arriving Tricolored Blackbird colonies. Most Tricolors do a mini-migration from the southern valley to the Sacramento valley near the middle to end of May and settle in Solano, Yolo, Sacramento, and Colusa Counties for a second round of nesting. It’s quite fascinating and we haven’t fully figured out the details of that shift, but we’re working on it!

Hopefully this helps to clear up any confusing parts to our program, but if you do have any questions about Tricolors and how they interact with agriculture, please let me know.