Hello Birders, Yesterday, birders joined me to explore Curles Neck Farm in eastern Henrico County. It was cold and wet at times but with birds everywhere, there was little to complain about. First, the Snow Geese were not present. They were replaced in the fields with awesome flocks of gulls. Wilson's Snipe was the bird of the day....small flocks everywhere, often providing excellent views. Other nice birds were a flyover Cackling Goose, a Merlin, both Yellowleg species and at least 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. 75+ species for the day. A full list is below. Richmond Audubon is granted permission to access the property and lead these trips in the spring and fall; the farm is private property. Good birding, Ellison ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <do-not-reply@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 2:01 PM Subject: eBird Report - Curles Neck Farm, Mar 17, 2013 To: mr.ellyo@xxxxxxxxx Curles Neck Farm, Henrico, US-VA Mar 17, 2013 7:15 AM - 12:15 PM Protocol: Traveling 6.0 mile(s) Comments: Birding trip with Richmond Audubon Society. Private property Richmond Audubon is granted permission to access. 76 species (+3 other taxa) Cackling Goose (Richardson's) (Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii) 1 Flyover with 5 CAGO, much smaller in comparison. Short neck, more stubby wings. Lighter brown overall. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 120 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 2 Gadwall (Anas strepera) 15 American Wigeon (Anas americana) 2 American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 2 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 24 Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 200 Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 15 Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 6 Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 2 Greater/Lesser Scaup (Aythya marila/affinis) 1 Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 17 Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 1 Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 8 Flyover Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 11 Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 4 Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 325 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 28 Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) 1 Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1 Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 3 Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) 2 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 18 Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 8 American Coot (Fulica americana) 24 Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 42 Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 3 Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 4 Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) 135 Flocks in the air constantly, and small groups bouncing around every wet field. Conservative estimate. Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) 50 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 3500 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 275 Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) 9 Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 1 Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 2 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 17 Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) 2 Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 2 Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) 1 Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 10 Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 1 American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 3 Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 1 Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 4 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 12 Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) 1 crow sp. (Corvus sp. (crow sp.)) 10 Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 3 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 9 Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 5 Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 1 White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1 Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 1 Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) 6 American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 14 Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 5 Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) 3 European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 55 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 4 Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) 1 Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 2 Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) 1 Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 13 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 15 White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 35 White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) 1 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 20 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 150 Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) 6 Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 115 blackbird sp. (Icteridae sp.) 50 House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 3 American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 1 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13427355 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) -- Ellison Orcutt *Field Trips Chair* *Richmond Audubon Society* Cell: (804) 339-6976 Mr.EllyO@xxxxxxxxx