Greetings, There was a fairly impressive flight of blackbirds, cowbirds, and grackles this evening at Hog Hole (Ithaca, NY). Most flocks were about 300 - 500 birds. The biggest surprise was a single adult male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD in a flock about 400 birds that was comprised of 80% Red-winged Blackbirds and 18% Common Grackles and a few cowbirds. I first spotted the bold white patches on the upperwing (primary coverts) and then quickly realized that entire head was yellow except for a small amount of black around the eye. The bird appeared intermediate in size and shape between the male Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. We didn't hear it call. Jessie quickly got on the bird and had good scope views as it headed to the West. I think it will be challenging to refind this bird, but it may be worth checking flocks of blackbirds in the area a bit more closely than usual.
Complete eBird checklist here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10134221 Some of you may also be interested in a weekly feature that we have started running on eBird as part of our work on BirdCast. The concept is to provide weekly forecasts of weather, bird migration and what species to look for throughout the United States. These are written by Marshall Iliff, Andrew Farnsworth, Brian Sullivan, Dave Nicosia and I. See the latest here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/bc20120309 Best, Chris Wood eBird & Neotropical Birds Project Leader Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York http://ebird.org http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
