Any of these Rusty Blackbirds? (1 Viewer)

[Jefferson Shank]

Are any of these Rusty Blackbirds? Taken in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, USA on 03/04/20.

Sorry, not the best pictures... Thanks!

 

[KC Foggin]

I'm seeing quite a bit of gray in one of the pics so I would assume that some of them are Rusty Blackbirds.

 

[Jefferson Shank]

Thanks, KC! Any one else want to confirm?

 

[Jim M.]

Pics 2 and 3 look like pure grackles, but maybe some candidates in the first pic (e.g. lower lh corner), but nothing I'd count. Sorry.

 

[rkj]

You have a mixture of species, including at least a few Red-winged Blackbirds and, as Jim M. notes, many Common Grackles. There might be some Rusty Blackbirds, but I can't confirm that from these photos.

 

[Jefferson Shank]

Thanks! The reason I asked was because I thought some of them were too small and grey for Common grackles.

 

[Nutcracker]

Like the others, mostly Common Grackles, a few Red-winged Blackbirds, and nothing I'd be happy to say was Rusty Blackbird.

 

[jmepler]

I can't recall ever seeing Rusty Blackbirds in a big mixed flock like that, not that it couldn't happen.

If you want to see Rusty Blackbird you are better off looking in marshy areas. Also, check along the edges of rivers or streams. They will pick through the detritus at the water's edge, looking for insects.

Learn their call, if you don't know it already. I almost always hear them before I see them.