Last week, California’s imperiled tricolored blackbirds were granted temporary endangered species protections, in light of the fact that its population is down to about 145,000 – the smallest number ever recorded. The birds numbered around 3 million in the 1930s. With much of the state’s wetlands drying up, these creatures have made themselves home at Central Valley farms, where they build their nests and raise their fledglings in the fields of grain meant to feed dairy cows. Unfortunately, as the grains are mowed, so are thousands of baby blackbirds, which has greatly contributed to the population decline. Luckily, various groups, ranging from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to our friends at Audubon California, are working with dairy owners to delay harvests until after the baby birds are born and ready to take flight. Even more promising is that scientists are now taking significant steps to create new wetlands in areas where the tricolored blackbirds have historically nested.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 17:04:27 +0000
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