Dear New York Birders, The 2015 Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz officially begins on Sunday, March 1st. We encourage birders to start thinking about the Blitz, revisiting hotspots from last year and to start planning your searches for Rusty Blackbirds! While it’s difficult to see past this cold winter, Rusties will begin moving before we know it. Again, the blitz window for New York State runs throughout March and April. See email forward below for more details on this years Blitz along with the newly developed “Areas of Interest” map.
The Blitz Coordinator at Vermont Ecostudies, Judith Scarl, put together a couple of great video tutorials that demonstrate how to properly enter blitz data using eBird. We strongly encourage folks to check out these videos if you are at all confused on how to go about submitting blitz data. 1. Beginner video: targeted at birders who are new to eBird and want to be walked through the entire data submission process. 7.5 minutes long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjqOLXyJLro&feature=youtu.be 2. Advanced video: targeted at birders who are comfortable with eBird but who want more information about how, when, and what to submit to the Blitz. ~4 minutes long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETRXujTSsZQ Thanks again for all of your support and please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the NY Blitz Coordinators with any further questions. Best, Derek Rogers ([email protected]) Long Island Blitz Coordinator Mike Shanley ([email protected]) - NYC/Staten Island Blitz Coordinator Will Raup ([email protected]) - Upstate NY Blitz Coordinator > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Derek Rogers <[email protected]> > Subject: 2015 Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz > Date: February 3, 2015 at 6:51:23 PM EST > To: NY Bird List <[email protected]> > > Dear New York Birders, > > With less than one month until kickoff we wanted to welcome everyone back to > the Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz. We have been gearing up and > planning for the 2015 season, the second year of a 3-year study headed up by > the International Rusty Blackbird Working Group (IRBWG). Through a > partnership with eBird, the Working Group seeks to collect as much data and > information as possible in an effort to develop conservation strategies and > management programs aimed at reversing the trend in the dramatic population > decline of Rusty Blackbirds. Based on available data we know that the Rusty > Blackbird’s population has declined at an alarming 85-99% in the past 40 > years. To learn more about the Working Group and it’s purpose please check > out this link: http://rustyblackbird.org/working-group/purpose/ > > So once again we are seeking your help! First, a huge thanks to all of last > years participants who helped exceed the programs expectations. New York > observers submitted 1696 checklists, a 46% increase in the number of > checklists containing Rusty Blackbird sightings since 2013 (pre-blitz era). > > The target blitz period for New York State is March 1 - April 31. During this > time period we are encouraging birders to head out and search for Rusty > Blackbirds and to submit their data through eBird using the “Rusty Blackbird > Spring Migration Blitz” protocol. This drop down will be available in eBird > on March 1st and should be used whenever you are searching for Rusty > Blackbirds, even if you don’t find any. Researchers are interested in both > presence and absence of the species. Based on last years data, the > researchers at IRBWG have developed an Areas of Interest Map. This map > contains priority locations that should be surveyed in addition to your > search efforts. We encourage everyone to check out this map and be sure to > visit these sites during the blitz window: > http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/2015-areas-of-interest/ > > There are often many excellent questions raised by blitz participants and as > a result a Frequently Asked Questions page was developed on the > rustyblackbird.org website: > http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/2015-areas-of-interest/areas-of-interest-frequently-asked-questions/ > > Also, social media users should follow the blitz Facebook page at: > https://www.facebook.com/rustyblackbirdspringblitz > > rustyblackbird.org contains a tremendous amount of information but we > understand that there are always going to be questions. For this reason New > York State has three Blitz Coordinators that are available to help answer > questions and to get interested folks started on the blitz. Again, we > encourage folks to check out the website but please do not hesitate to > contact any of the coordinators listed below. Thank you again for helping to > make the blitz successful and we look forward to another great season!! > > Best, > > Derek Rogers ([email protected]) - Long Island Blitz Coorindator > Mike Shanley ([email protected]) - NYC/Staten Island Blitz Coordinator > Will Raup ([email protected]) - Upstate NY Blitz Coordinator -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
