Data from: Bioacoustic monitoring reveals details of tricolored blackbird breeding phenology

Bioacoustic monitoring has been used to study behaviors of organisms from
insects to whales. Studies using multiple vocalizations of a single
species have the potential to determine detailed phenology, but to date
are rare. We tested whether bioacoustic monitoring of multiple gender- and
age-specific vocalizations of the imperiled tricolored blackbird Agelaius
tricolor could provide detailed information on reproductive phenology and
breeding success. Using inexpensive cell phones and free software
applications, we collected audio recordings of tricolored blackbird
colonies during their breeding season. Adding solar panels enabled the
stations to run autonomously, and use of cellular data enabled remote
uploading of recordings. Analysis of the presence or absence of three
vocalizations (male song, female song, and nestling call) provided a rich
and detailed description of the breeding phenology, including the dates
for courtship, onset of nest building, incubation, nestling hatching, and
fledgling departure from nesting colonies. The resulting detail was more
granular and accurate than comparable data from field monitoring, although
field monitoring provides data such as abundance counts that bioacoustic
monitoring does not. This information has a wide range of applications to
research and conservation, from enabling more accurate abundance
estimates, to assessing colony success or failure with fewer visits, to
providing stronger guidance for when a colony must be protected from
disruption.