This one is for all the Birders! Our biologist, Joe D., captured a photo of a female Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) in mid-flight near the San Andreas SEA. We wonder what she has in her beak…lunch (loves eating insects and grains!) or nesting material?
The Tricolored Blackbird is one of the many birds species that inhabit the LA County Significant Ecological Areas (SEA). Tricolored Blackbirds breed primarily in California, on freshwater marshes particularly in the Central Valley and western Los Angeles/Santa Barbara Counties. Historically, Tricolored Blackbird was the most common bird species from Los Angeles to San Diego and formed the largest colonies of any North American land bird, where a single colony could contain tens of thousands of birds.
Today, there are fewer than 145,000 Tricolored Blackbirds, down from 400,000 birds in 2008 and millions in 1930s. The loss of habitat and continuing drought have pushed the birds to breed on agricultural fields. However, harvest season is when chicks are starting to fledge, thus causing nesting failures.
LA County Dept. of Regional Planning’s SEA Ordinance amendment project is an on-going effort to conserve genetic and physical diversity within LA County by designating biological resource areas that are capable of sustaining themselves into the future. Every Wednesday, we will profile a plant or animal “Ambassador” that makes the SEAs its home. #SEAwednesday
For more information, contact us at:
sea@planning.lacounty.gov
213-974-6461
Environmental Planning & Sustainability Section
Picture: Joseph Decruyenaere
References: Audubon and American Bird Conservancy
