Yellow-headed Blackbirds Make a Showing at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

The Bear Creek Unit of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge gets a great deal less attention than some of the other birding "hotspots" in Stanislaus and Merced Counties. According to the eBird Hotspots map, it's been visited 88 times by birders who took the time to report their sightings. They've seen 150 species at the unit. Compare that to the nearby Merced National Wildlife Refuge which has had around 2,000 reports over the years (and around 225 species).  The main unit of the San Luis Refuge where the visitor center and Tule Elk compound is located has more than 800 reports, and 200+ species.

I'm pretty sure that the size of the unit has something to do with the disparity. The auto-tour at Bear Creek is only 2.5 miles long and encompasses a much smaller area. The Merced auto-tour is more than five miles long. The pools in the interior at Merced allow for more isolation for the migratory geese and cranes that might want to avoid auto traffic and human beings with cameras (or guns). I have seen few of the Snow Geese or Sandhill Cranes during my visits to Bear Creek. Indeed, it is often an afterthought to stop there at sunset after we have spent hours exploring the Merced NWR or the San Luis Unit and visitor center. But still, it has its charms, and I've seen some interesting species when we've paid a visit.

A year ago, on March 18, 2017, birders reported that Yellow-headed Blackbirds had returned to the Bear Creek Unit. I was curious, having never seen the species before, so I headed out and much to my delight, I found a few, and posted photos last year last April. I was a little disappointed with the pictures because the birds were hiding among the reeds and I couldn't get a clear open shot.

So shoot forward a year to March 18, 2018. No one this year has yet reported seeing Yellow-headed Blackbirds at the Bear Creek Unit (7 visits so far), but I couldn't help but think about them. We had spent most of the afternoon at the main Waterfowl auto-tour at San Luis (and having an adventure with a coyote), but the sun was still up, and we decided to give the Bear Creek auto-tour a whirl. There were thousands upon thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds in residence, making quite the cacophony to catch the attention of the females. As we drove near, they would take flight in a panic, but from a distance I noticed that there were a couple of blackbirds that could care less that we were coming. I realized with a start that they had yellow heads! We ultimately saw at least four of them, although there could have been plenty more down in the reeds.

Between Fresno and Stockton this year the Yellow-headed Blackbirds have only been noted at the Los Banos Unit of the San Luis NWR, the Merced NWR, and the Bear Creek Unit. I'm hoping to see more of them in the surrounding areas soon as more arrive.