Nesting and reproductive success and brown-headed cowbird parasitism of the red-winged blackbird in correlation with its environment: roadside ditches vs. wetlands

With an increase in wetland restoration studies, analyzing the reaction and success of the species in response to the reconstructed wetland can be very valuable when planning for further restoration. Some wetland birds, such as the red-winged blackbird, nest in both natural habitats, (wetlands), or anthropogenic habitats, (roadside ditches). My research was conducted to determine whether the red-winged blackbirds saw a higher nest success rate in the reconstructed wetlands over the anthropogenic linear habitats. Factors that altered between nests (plant height, percent cover, water depth, etc.) were measured. The data was analyzed using the program MARK but only the average water depth was found to have a significant relationship with the success rate. There was no significant difference between the success rate of the nest in the linear habitats and the wetlands habitats, though this could be due to a low sample size. Further research is necessary to verify the results found.