Following Tricolored Blackbirds and Their Friends: Farmers, Volunteers, and Biologists

When I picture biologist Ian Souza-Cole on a typical spring workday, I imagine a vibrant green sea of triticale and hear a sound that could’ve been dreamt up by the lead singer of an avant-garde band: part cat-like caw, part squeaky toy. The artist behind those experimental sounds? None other than the sharply dressed “Trike,” otherwise known as the Tricolored Blackbird.

That persistent image in my mind is exactly why Ian was so excited for me to join him in a field of yellow flowers a week before the triennial statewide survey—a cover crop planted between regular harvests of Italian vegetables. Unlike the green sea of triticale that Ian typically works to protect throughout the nesting season, this group of mustard-loving Trikes chose a different palette early this season. Instead of nesting next door to cows on the dairies where they’re so often found throughout the Central Valley, this adventurous flock opted to spend their days stuffing their beaks with arthropods and building their nests immersed in shades of golden yellow.

No matter how many exclamations I failed to contain under the influence of my first Tricolored Blackbird colony, Ian’s focus remained sharp and his work methodical, and he put me to work within minutes of my arrival. To help mark the protected nesting boundaries that show the farmer where to delay harvest, I drove Ian’s truck at a painstakingly slow speed while he carefully searched for signs of nesting from the bed of the pickup. When he found the smoke signals he was looking for, he knocked on the back window, directing me to stop.

With precious cargo (aka Ian) standing tall in the back of the truck, I imagined a glass of water on the dashboard—anything to make me brake smoothly. Ian didn’t complain, and I didn’t ask for feedback on Day One of my unofficial blackbird survey training. When I told him how much fun I was having, he even offered to let me keep driving, a gesture that felt like a quiet vote of confidence. 

Later, while walking through the lemony field to place a nesting boundary marker (an improvised structure made of bamboo, duct tape, and brightly colored caution tape that reminded me of one of those inflatable “air dancers” outside a used car dealership), Ian pointed to a Song Sparrow nest tucked close to our path, then to a Western Meadowlark’s farther out in the field. Both species were nesting within the protected area, benefiting from the presence of their state-threatened Tricolored Blackbird neighbors.

When we protect at-risk species, we create safer spaces that promote an abundance and diversity of life beyond just the species we're focused on. The newly released State of the Birds report for the U.S. reveals continued declines in North American bird populations, identifying 112 Tipping Point species, including the Tricolored Blackbird, that have lost half their populations in the past 50 years. Species like the Western Meadowlark, while not currently listed as state-threatened, have still declined by more than 40 percent over the same period. It was heartening to witness the impact of our efforts, helping both the Trike colonies and the birds that nest alongside them.

Seeing the impact of the harvest delay work firsthand left me with a deepened sense of gratitude for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which, along with biologists like Ian, conservationists, farmers, volunteer birders, and dairy industry partners, has made the protection of these birds possible for more than a decade.

The triennial statewide survey that took place a week after my ride-along with Ian is no small feat. Since 1994, this massive volunteer-driven effort has taken place every 3 years in April, with partner organizations like Audubon California, Audubon community chapters, University of California at Davis, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife helping coordinate the logistics. Over the course of one spring weekend, trained volunteer birders spread out across California to locate as many active Tricolored Blackbird colonies as possible.

This year, I joined the count in Los Angeles County with my birding pal Frank DiMartino, president of Conejo Valley Audubon, Ventura Audubon board member, and bird educator, while Ian and Xerónimo Castañeda, Audubon California’s director of working lands, completed solo surveys in Placer County. Our Starr Ranch team contributed data from Orange County, and dozens of Audubon community chapters and local volunteers participated across the state. The strength of this broad, community-based effort helped pave the way for the Tricolored Blackbird’s listing under the California Endangered Species Act in March 2019.

Because Ian and Xerónimo had tempered my expectations for the Los Angeles County count, explaining that much of the population has shifted north, I was brimming with joy when Frank and I heard the strange, wonderful chorus distinctive of the beloved Tricolored Blackbird. A small colony of around 100 birds was busy building nests in one of their preferred habitat types, away from fields of triticale and mustard: stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), also known as California nettle or American stinging nettle. Even after all these years of birding, I still managed to brush up against it, right on the corner of a vacant lot in a residential neighborhood. No wonder the birds like nettle; it’s a natural safeguard against overly curious humans like me.

Up north, Ian and Xerónimo cruised through western Placer County to check on 24 historic colony locations known from prior surveys. They found three active colonies (each with around 1,000 birds), where Trikes were building nests in thickets of Himalayan blackberry and foraging in the surrounding grasslands. Notably, all three sites were adjacent to Highway 65 and not far from ever-expanding suburban development, highlighting the perils faced by the Sierra foothill-breeding segment of the population.

Movement Study
Thanks to recent funding from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, our team will soon begin unraveling part of the mystery surrounding these incredible, nomadic birds. This research will focus on itinerant breeding behavior—a rare strategy in which birds may nest in multiple locations during a single breeding season, rather than settling in one place. We’ll explore the connections between different breeding areas across the Central Valley, Sierra Nevada foothills, and beyond.

Ian was joined by Audubon California’s biologist and working lands project associate, Jodi Pinder, and Xerónimo, along with Point Blue Conservation Science biologist Catie Mong, to tag the first Tricolored Blackbirds for our movement study—an exciting step forward in understanding this species’ movements.

By tracking their movements throughout the full annual cycle using Motus and Argos technology, we hope to fill major knowledge gaps about where Tricolored Blackbirds go, how they survive, and what factors influence their populations year-round. These insights will help us better estimate survivorship and improve conservation models for this at-risk species.

Get Involved
Protecting species like the Tricolored Blackbird takes all of us—from biologists and farmers to community scientists and everyday bird lovers. Sign up for updates, volunteer with your local Audubon chapter, or learn more about how you can support bird conservation across California.