Found primarily in California’s Central Valley, Tricolored Blackbirds are often confused with their more numerous cousin, the Red-winged Blackbird. Once nesting in colonies of over 100,000 birds, they have declined precipitously in recent years and are now listed as a threatened species. Still, Sacramento County supports up to 25,000 nesting birds annually, a significant portion of the statewide population. Colonies move around from year to year, but can generally be found nesting in blackberry patches in grasslands and irrigated pastures such as those along Jackson Rd (Hwy 16).
In February 2021, Xerónimo Castañeda presented Tricolored Blackbird Conservation at the Sacramento Bird Alliance Monthly Meeting. You can watch a video of the presentation here.