Typically it wouldn鈥檛 be especially noteworthy that six Tulare and Kern County farmers finished harvesting their silage crops last week, even if it is a little later than usual. However, the actions of these six farmers, with help from conservationists at USDA鈥檚 Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and 探花精选 California, have resulted in saving more than 65,000 rare Tricolored Blackbirds.
The species is now federally listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern, a California state Species of Special Concern, and also protected under the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Over 40 percent of Tricolored Blackbirds choose to nest in Central Valley silage fields that resemble the marshland the birds traditionally inhabited. 鈥淵ou never know for sure where the birds will decide to nest in a given year,鈥 say Jesse Bahm and Keiller Kyle, a team of biologists with NRCS and 探花精选 respectively. 鈥淭ricolored blackbirds are colonial nesters and when they choose a nesting area it can mean everything to the success of thousands of birds鈥攂ut some headaches to the farmers who find themselves playing host to the colonies.鈥
Farmers with Tricolored Blackbirds can help the birds by delaying their harvesting until the young can fly away. However this also delays the summer planting, can disrupt the equipment and labor schedules the farmers have negotiated in advance, and also results in a loss of quality to the silage fields hosting the birds.
"Western United Dairymen members have once again partnered with NRCS and 探花精选 California to protect the Tricolored Blackbird,鈥 said Paul Sousa, Environmental Director for Western United Dairymen, based in Modesto. 鈥淭his shows our members' commitment to a sustainable ecosystem on and around their farms. This voluntary program benefits all parties as conservation is achieved in a way that allows farms to continue to be productive."
NRCS and 探花精选 work with the farmers to minimize disruptions to farming operations and NRCS offers payments through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), to compensate farmers for the resulting drop in the quality of the grain. This year the farmers who hosted the six colonies of Tricolored Blackbirds saved more than 65,000 birds鈥攁bout one fifth of the species鈥 entire global population. One Tulare farm had more than 30,000 Tricolored birds. The birds all successfully fledged by the end of May.
The conservation organizations are working toward a long-term plan that would eventually provide alternative nesting sites to the Tricolored Blackbirds that would be preferable to the farmers鈥 fields.
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