ML24562261

Observation details

While exiting my work vehicle, I was caught off guard by a couple of loosely associated flocks of CCLO that flushed from the tall grass nearby. I panicked because I did not have my binoculars or my camera on me. I kept an eye on the flock as they settled down nearby and soon was able to blindly find my bins and camera, which didn't have an SD Card in it…but no matter, because I never saw them while they were foraging in the grass. I walked towards where I saw them land and soon flushed them again. I counted 17 individuals from one small flock that flushed and remained flying around long enough to allow me to count them all. A different flock that was flushed was quickly estimated at 25 individuals before they landed, so 35 is a conservative estimation. I continued to flush them while trying to get acceptable recordings of their flight calls and was lucky that they never flushed very far. While observing them in flight, their white outter tail feathers were easily observed along with faint wing bars. I was able to get many recordings of their distinctive 'tri-ri-rip' calls as they flushed, but speakers or headphones might help to hear the recordings.