I had the privilege to watch three Rusty Blackbirds forage at the Forest Hill Cemetery Pond in Duluth yesterday afternoon. The Cornell School of Ornithology rates this bird species one of the most threatened in North America. It has lost “85-99%” of its population over the last 40 years. Given it breeds near Boreal swamps, ponds and bogs in remote areas north of the Minnesota border with Canada up to Alaska, it is hard to study.
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Regardless, I was very pleased to watch a family of three very close up … a male, female and juvenile.
💚💙💛❤️💜
my heart breaks thinking of their decline. grateful you got to see them and thanks for sharing
Very nice, Don