Thanks to all that replied to my previous email. Plenty of good id'ing = tips. The verdict: There is a small group (3 pairs, possibly more) of = brewer's blackbirds nesting within an ~1 acre area of wet meadow/sandbar = willow in Big Stone County - SW of SW of SE 1/4, Sec 13, Akron (lower) = Township - property formally owned by The Nature Conservancy, but now part = of the Lac Qui Parle Wildlife Management Area. =20
A closer look at the dark eye on the females, along with all logic = suggests they are indeed brewer's blackbirds. However, my wife and I are = still fairly certain the male (paired with a female at the time) we = listened to on May 28th in the same exact spot, sounded very much like the = rusty on our audio references (Peterson's CD and NG's software) - "check - = check- check *- chillery-seee" I'm not suggesting hybridization, but = the biologist in me is curious if there is any reference to the two = species hybridizing. The nest of 4 eggs plus 1 cowbird now has 3 brewer's = nestlings in it, along with 1 unhatched brewer's and 1 cowbird egg. = According to MOU web data, this would be the first documented nesting in = Big Stone County (hard to believe)??? Curt Vacek ____________________________ Assistant Area Wildlife Manager Minnesota DNR - Section of Wildlife 850 N Hering St Appleton, MN 56208 phone: (320) 289-2493 fax: (320) 289-2551 email: curt.va...@dnr.state.mn.us
