Today (10/21) around 4:40 PM I observed the Yellow-headed Blackbird (year bird
#316), originally found by Sue Heath and Fenton Day, feeding with several large
flocks (~700 birds total) of Brown-headed Cowbirds and a few Starlings in a
pasture along Turkey Island Rd in Henrico County. When I first arrived at the
spot around 3:40, there were ZERO birds in the pasture. I returned to the spot
around 4:15 and found the pasture nearly covered with cowbirds. Over the next
half hour or so, portions of the flock would depart towards Curles Neck Farm
and new birds would come in from the direction of the farm. Around 4:45,
farmers showed up to check on the cows essentially the entire flock (including
the Yellow-headed) got up and fly off towards Curles Neck Farm. I remained in
the area until about 5:15 and although several small flocks of cowbirds
returned to the pasture, the Yellow-head was not seen again.
The handful of sightings of this bird at this site over the past few days have
been between 3:00 and 5:00 PM and it appears that seeing the Yellow-headed is a
matter of being there at the right time. The flock (s) appear to move around
the area quite a bit.
Good Birding,
Mike Boatwright--
Amherst, VA
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