Cuckoo Birding
I haven't posted on the blog for a while but I've still been out and about birding over the last couple of weeks randomly visiting places with no real strategy in mind.
I'm not sure what that Killdeer (above) is eating but it looks as though whatever it has passed the "sell by" date.
I made a visit to Devil's Hopyard. A singing Winter Wren, Magnolia Warblers, and Acadian Flycatcher were among the more interesting birds I found at this location.
I like to get out early as we start to enter warmer weather and have seen deer like this one which was crossing the road at Gillette Castle state park.
I did a little cabin camping at a privately owned campground. State campgrounds that I usually stay at are opening late this year and some have been closed due to budget cuts. It was a different experience staying at a private campground which had a store, swimming pool, and even had music playing in their bathrooms.
I was happy to get a nice view of this Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Gillette castle park. They seem to be plentiful this spring but are more often heard than seen. I usually have a difficult time even getting a glimpse of one.
Yellow-billed Cuckoos eat as 100 tent caterpillars at one sitting.You can find more information about these unique and interesting birds on Cornell's All About Birds website.
3 comments:
We had kildeer here for a few years, but not anymore. I wonder what makes birds decide to come and go. And I didn't know there were cuckoos in the US. 100 tent caterpillars, wow!
I've seen the black billed variety here in Minnesota but the yellow one are extremely rare here. Some years tent caterpillars show up though...:)
The last picture of Cuckoo is beautiful, love its yellow wings. I see you liked more the private campground than the the state one. The music in a bathroom is rare thing :)
Post a Comment