Sunday 16 July 2023

[cobirds] Yellow-headed Blackbird migration, Weld Co.

Hello all,


On Saturday, I visited family members living in Milliken, southwest of Greeley in Weld County. While sitting outside the house in mid and late morning, I saw many Yellow-headed Blackbirds in flight overhead. They came in groups, sometimes as few as 5 or 10 and sometimes as many as 100 or 200 at a time. Altogether, I saw at least 1000 and perhaps as many as 1500. They were all coming from the north and flying south. Virtually all of them were adult males, with only several females or immatures. The Birds of the World species account states that Yellow-headed Blackbirds are diurnal migrants and migrate in irregular, loose flocks that are entirely composed of adult males (in this case) or females and immatures. Evidently what I witnessed was diurnal migration by adult males. An impressive sight.


Bob Andrews

Centennial, Arapahoe Co. and Yekepa, Liberia, West Africa


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