Florida Blackbirds

Varieties

There are many different species of blackbirds, including the Red-Winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Great-Tailed Grackle, Brown-Headed Cowbird, Yellow-Headed Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird and Rusty Blackbird. The Red-Winged Blackbird and Common Grackle are the most prevalent.

 

Red-Winged Blackbird

Identification
The male, a little smaller than a robin, is black with red and yellow shoulder patches. The smaller female is brownish, resembling a large sparrow.

Range and Habitat
The red-winged blackbird nests in hayfields, marshes and ditches. Large flocks feed in fields and bottomlands. Redwings winter in the southern United States.

Fun Facts
Insects are the dominant food during the nesting season (May through July).

Except during nesting season, redwings congregate in large nighttime roosts in marshes or woods containing up to several million birds.

Annual survival rate is only about 50% to 60%.

hese birds provide some benefits by feeding on harmful insects, such as rootworm beetles and corn earworms, and on weed seeds, such as Johnson grass.

Damage to Crops
Red-winged blackbirds can cause considerable damage to ripening corn, sunflower, sorghum, and oats in the milk and dough stages, and to sprouting and ripening rice.


Common Gackle

Identification
An iridescent blackbird larger than a robin, the common grackle has a long keel-shaped tail. The male, slightly larger than the female, has more iridescence on the head and throat.

Range and Habitat
A common nester throughout North America east of the Rockies, the common grackle nests in shelterbelts, farmyards, marshes, and towns. Flocks feed in fields, lawns, woodlots, and bottomlands. These birds winter in the southern United States, often in association with redwings, cowbirds, and starlings.

Fun Facts
Grackles have a larger, stronger bill than redwings, allowing them to feed on acorns and other tree fruits in winter.

Damage to Crops
Grackles will feed on mature field corn in the dent stage, removing entire kernels from the cob and will pull up sprouting corn.

 

Legal Status

Blackbirds are native migratory birds, and thus come under the jurisdiction of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a formal treaty with Canada and Mexico. Blackbirds are given federal protection in the United States. They may be killed only when found “committing or about to commit depredations upon ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, or wildlife, or when concentrated in such numbers and manner as to constitute a health hazard or other nuisance,” as stated in federal laws regarding migratory birds (50 CFR 21). Some states have additional restrictions on the killing of blackbirds.

 

Prevention and Control Methods

Exclusion
Generally not practical; netting can be used on small plots. Netting is cost-effective for high-value crops.

Cultural Methods
Deep planting, avoid early planting of rice. Grow nonpreferred crops near roost; provide alternative feeding sites. Avoid early or late planting; use resistant hybrids. Harvest as early as possible. Same as for ripening corn except resistant hybrids are not available. Provide alternative feeding site; early harvest.

Frightening
Several devices available; most popular is propane exploder.

Repellents
Seed treatments.

Toxicants
None.

Trapping
Generally not practical.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee).

Our local Florida offices offer Blackbirds services in the following cities:
Alachua, Alford, Altamonte Springs, Alva, Anna Maria, Apalachicola, Apollo Beach, Apopka, Archer, Atlantic Beach, Atlantis, Auburndale, Aventura, Azalea Park, Babson Park, Bahama Shores, Bal Harbour, Baldwin, Baldwin Park, Barberville, Bartlett Park, Bartow, Bascom, Bassville Park, Bay Harbor Islands, Bay Hill, Bay Lake, Bay Lake, Bayway Isles, Beachway Park, Belle Glade, Belle Island, Belle Isle, Belle Vista, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleview, Beverly Beach, Big Pine Key, Biscayne Park, Blam, Blam, Boca Grande, Boca Raton, Boggy Creek, Bokeelia, Bonita Springs, Boynton Beach, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Brandon, Brent, Briny Breezes, Bryant, Bryceville, Buenaventura Lakes, Bunnell, Callahan, Callaway, Campbellton, Canal Point, Candler, Cape Canaveral, Cape Coral, Captiva, Carrabelle, Caryville, Casselberry, Century, Chattahoochee, Chattahoochee, Cheval, Childs Park, Chipley, Chokoloskee, Cinco Bayou, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Clermont, Cloud Lake, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Coconut Creek, Colonial Town, Conway, Cooper City, Copeland, Coquina, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Cottondale, Crawfordville, Crestview, Crooked Lake Park, Cutler Bay, Dade City, Dade City, Dania Beach, Davenport, Davie, Davis Islands, Dawn Cesar, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Debary, Deerfield Beach, Deerfield Beach, Deland, Dell Rio, Delray Beach, Deltona, Destin, Doctor Phillips, Doctors Inlet, Doral, Dundee, Dunedin, Dunnellon, Eagle Crest, Eagle Lake, Eagle Nest, Earleton, East Park, Eatonville, Ebro, Edgewater, Edgewood, Egypt Lake, El Jobean, El Portal, Elfers, Elkton, Estero, Eustis, Everglades City, Fairfield, Fairview Shores, Fellsmere, Fernandina Beach, Flagler Beach, Florida Center, Florida City, Forest City, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Meade, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Fort Ogden, Fort Pierce, Frostproof, Fruitland Park, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Walton, Ft. Walton Beach, Gainesville, Geneva, Gibsonia, Gibsonton, Gibsonton, Glen Ridge, Glenwood, Golden Beach, Goldenrod, Golf, Gonzalez, Goodland, Graceville, Grand Ridge, Grant-valkaria, Greater Pinellas Point, Green Cove Springs, Greensboro, Greensboro, Greenville, Greenwood, Gretna, Gretna, Groveland, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Stream, Gulfport, Gulfport, Haines City, Hallandale Beach, Hastings, Havana, Havana, Haverhill, Hawthorne, Heathrow, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, High Springs, Highland Beach, Highland City, Hilliard, Hillsboro Beach, Hobe Sound, Holiday, Holly Hill, Hollywood, Holmes Beach, Homestead, Hypoluxo, Immokalee, Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Indian River Shores, Indian Rocks, Indian Shores, Indiantown, Inidan Rocks Beach, Islamorada, Island Grove, Islandia, Isle Of Palms, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jay, Jensen Beach, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Jupiter Island, Kathleen, Kenneth City, Key Biscayne, Key Colony Beach, Key Largo, Key West, Keystone Heights, Kirkman North, Kissimmee, La Crosse, La Crosse, La Vista, Lacoochee, Lake Alfred, Lake Buena Vista, Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Eola Heights, Lake Geneva, Lake Harbor, Lake Helen, Lake Lorraine, Lake Mary, Lake Nona, Lake Park, Lake Wales, Lake Weldona, Lake Worth, Lakeland, Lakewood Estates, Lakewood Estates, Land O Lakes, Lantana, Largo, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderdale-by-the-sea, Lauderhill, Laurel Hill, Layton, Lazy Lake, Lee, Lee, Leesburg, Leessburg, Lehigh Acres, Lighthouse Point, Lockhart, Long Key, Longboat Key, Longwood, Loxahatchee, Loxahatchee Groves, Lutz, Lynn Haven, Madeira Beach, Madison, Madison, Maitland, Malabar, Malone, Manalapan, Mango, Mangonia Park, Marathon, Marathon Shores, Marco Island, Margate, Marianna, Marina Harbor, Marineland, Mary Esther, Mascotte, Maxamo, Mc Intosh, Meadow Woods, Medley, Medulla, Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Metro West, Mexico Beach, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, Miami Shores, Miami Springs, Micanopy, Mid Florida, Middleburg, Midway, Midway, Millenia, Milton, Minneola, Mirabella, Miramar, Monticello, Monticello, Mount Plymouth, Mulberry, Naples, Navarre, Neptune Beach, New Port Richey, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Niceville, Nocatee, North Bay Village, North Fort Myers, North Lauderdale, North Miami, North Miami Beach, North Palm Beach, North Port, North Redington Beach, Oak Hill, Oak Hill, Oak Ridge, Oakland, Oakland Park, Ocala, Ocean Breeze Park, Ocean City, Ocean Ridge, Ochopee, Ocoee, Odessa, Okahumpka, Oldsmar, Ona, Opa Locka, Orange City, Orange Park, Orchid, Orlando, Orlovista, Ormond Beach, Oviedo, Pace, Pace, Pahokee, Palm Bay, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Shores, Palm City, Palm Coast, Palm Harbor, Palm Shores, Palm Springs, Palmetto, Palmetto Bay, Palmetto Beach, Panama City, Panama City Beach, Paradise Island, Parker, Parkland, Pass A Grill Beach, Pembroke Park, Pembroke Pines, Penney Farms, Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key, Perry, Pierson, Pine Castle, Pine Hills, Pinecrest, Pineland, Pinellas Park, Plant City, Plantation, Polk City, Pompano Beach, Ponce Inlet, Port Orange, Port Richey, Port Saint Joe, Port Salerno, Port St Lucie, Punta Gorda, Quincy, Quincy, Ranches, Reddick, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Richmond Heights, Riverview, Riviera Beach, Rockledge, Roseland, Rosemont, Rotonda West, Royal Palm Beach, Safety Harbor, Saint Augustine, Saint Augustine Beach, Saint Cloud, Saint James City, Saint Leo, Saint Lucie, Saint Marks, Saint Pete Beach, San Antonio, Sanford, Sanibel, Sarasota, Satellite Beach, Sea Ranch Lakes, Sebastian, Seminole, Sewalls Point, Shalimar, Silver Springs, Sky Lake, Sneads, Sopchoppy, South Apopka, South Bay, South Daytona, South Miami, South Palm Beach, South Pasadena, Southchase, Southport, Southwest Ranches, Springfield, St Petersburg, St. Marks, Stuart, Sugarloaf Shores, Summerland Key, Sunny Isles Beach, Sunrise, Surfside, Sweetwater, Taft, Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Tallevast, Tamarac, Tampa, Tarpon Springs, Tavares, Tavernier, Temple Terrace, Tequesta, Tierra Verde, Timberleaf, Titusville, Titusville, Town And Country, Treasure Island, Trinity, Umatilla, Union Park, University Park, Valparaiso, Valrico, Valrico, Vanderbilt Beach, Venice, Ventura, Vernon, Vero Beach, Virginia Gardens, Vista Park, Wabasso, Wacissa, Wahneta, Waldo, Warrington, Wauchula, Wausau, Waverly, Weirsdale, Wekiva Springs, Wellington, Wesley Chapel, West Chase, West Melbourne, West Miami, West Palm Beach, West Park, Weston, Wewahitchka, Williamsburg, Wilton Manors, Windermere, Winston, Winter Beach, Winter Garden, Winter Garden, Winter Haven, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Wright, Wright, Yalaha, Yulee, Zellwood, Zephyrhills