It’s entirely possible that there has never been a more aptly named bird than the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Just the name alone makes correct identification almost automatic. This is a bird that spends the winter in Mexico and across the border in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. California has a year-round population in the southeast corner of our state and in the coastal valleys in the south. In the winter, the bulk of the birds from Mexico fill up the United States’ prairie wetlands. A specific population moves up into California and takes up spring and summer residence in the Central Valley. I’ll never forget the one I saw poking around the grass outside of the Bakersfield Airport. Because there are so many passing through the state, however, we get a lot of sightings throughout the state in March and April. You can see that distribution on the maps below (photo by Chris O'Donaghue).
Here's the eBird map from end of February, showing a few birds in motion around the state:
We see a lot more activity around the end of March:
And now here's the map from today:
