Cris, Tom and I managed to find about 2,000 tricolored blackbirds in western Riverside County on the survey this past weekend. Not bad compared to zero last year in the midst of the drought. Most of the birds were gorging on caterpillars from the fields and hillsides adjacent to the marshes where they put their nests. None of the birds were nesting in grain fields like the ones two years ago in the San Jacinto Valley. Instead, they stuck to the traditional cattail and tule marshes. One new colony we found was south of Winchester in a small marsh surrounded by a new housing development. Luckily, there is still enough open land just past the houses for the birds to get food for the kids. We saw many begging fledglings waiting for the adults to come streaming back from the hillsides, bills bulging with caterpillars. I fear this location will be abandoned in the near future though, as houses continue to spread out over the land. Luckily, most of the other sites with tricolors are on protected land with ample open space surrounding the colonies.

I certainly agree with Dave Goodward's comment that the newly found Winchester tricolor colony will not have a lasting future given the present and future development of the Winchester corridor. It is also important to remember tricolors nest in dense colonies; they are known for forming the largest colonies of any North American passerine bird. The size of the tricolor colony is therefore an important survival attribute. Tricolors are much more abundant in the Central Valley of California where a nesting colony of tricolors can number more than 50,000 birds. The San Jacinto Valley colony of tricolors was widely thought to be the largest remaining tricolor colony in Southern California. In 2006 this population nested in a 13 acre wheat field on a local dairy and was estimated to number 8000 birds. In 2007, I was not able to locate the historic San Jacinto nesting colony. This was thought to be a consequence of the drought which denied the birds insect rich foraging habitat necessary to feed their young. Much more ominous is the fact that in 2008, after an extensive search of suitable habitats for this conspicuous colony nesting bird, I could not locate the historic San Jacinto Valley population. We all should be asking what has happen to these birds ?

The tricolored blackbird is one of 140 species of plants and animals designated for protection under the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). Because tricolors usually nest in wetland substrates (a restricted habitat type) and require an expansive, closely associated,insect rich foraging habitat to feed their young, it is my fear the tricolred blackbird will very likely be the first species lost under the MSHCP stewardship. It is also my expectation this loss will be followed closely by the extirpation of two endangered plant species (San Jacinto Valley Crownscale and Spreading Navarretia)which are also protected under the MSHCP and are largely restricted to the increasely impacted San Jacinto Valley floodplain areas.