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I had a blast at Bradford Farm this afternoon in Boone Co., but was unable to locate any American Golden-Plovers in ~2 hrs. there plus some driving around neighboring fields. WILSON'S SNIPE and KILLDEER were absolutely everywhere I looked. My eBird list with comments: Bradford Farms, Boone, US-MO Mar 27, 2011 3:10 PM - 4:50 PM Protocol: Traveling 3.0 mile(s) Comments: Snow from yesterday had melted. Striped Skunk foraging near the west pond. 28 species Snow Goose 117 Approximately half were blue morph Gadwall 1 Mallard 2 Lesser Scaup 11 Ruddy Duck 2 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Great Blue Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 2 Northern Harrier 6 Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern) 2 On very pale individual. Belly band almost absent. American Kestrel 1 Killdeer 220 Conservative estimate. One pair observed copulating. Pectoral Sandpiper 1 Wilson's Snipe 400 Conservative estimate. Absolutely everywhere. Often flushed by harriers. Ran horizontal and very low to the ground when out in the open with head tilted to look skyward. Amusing little guys. American Crow 9 Two chased off one of the Red-tailed Hawks. Horned Lark 30 American Robin 3 European Starling 120 Mixed with flocks of blackbirds. American Pipit 2 Heard only Smith's Longspur 1 Male almost in full breeding plumage. Heard rattle before it was seen. Apparently alone (only other birds in the vicinity were snipe). Immediately SE of the irrigation equipment along main east-west road. Ran around in the corn stubble at some distance, so no photo, but got some pretty good looks in the scope. Head was striking black and white stripes/patches. Chin, breast and back of neck were an orange-ish creamy color. Back was non-descript. Savannah Sparrow 4 Song Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 700 Estimate. 3 massive flocks of blackbirds Eastern Meadowlark 30 Western Meadowlark 1 Rusty Blackbird 2 Common Grackle 50 Brown-headed Cowbird 200 Ryan Douglas Postdoctoral Fellow 310 Tucker Hall University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211 [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------ The Audubon Society of Missouri's Wild Bird Discussion Forum ASM Website: http://mobirds.org/