[mou] rusty vs brewer's update

[Curt Vacek]

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.vacek@dnr.state.mn.us