NATURE CLICKS #455 - BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO (FIRST SIGHTING)

I hope you don’t ask me for a print of this photo 😉. It is at the edge between going to the trash and keeping for the records and I admit it is not very sharp. The reason I like to show it anyway is the fact that I never have seen a Black-billed Cuckoo before and didn’t even know that we were in its breeding range during the summer.

As often during my lunch break I took the dog for a little ride to a nearby location and today I checked a meadow to see if any Bobolinks were already present (found actually three males). At the edge of the prairie-like grasslands is a little grove of cottonwoods and that’s where the Black-billed Cuckoo was discovered. We are more familiar with the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, who is present in our woods during the summer season. Although this year we haven’t seen or heard one yet. Both species are not very common and it makes me happy to add another bird to my list of sightings.

NATURE CLICKS #426 - YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO

I have been in Green Island during the last couple weekends and the situation is different than at any other time before. Due to the very high water level some parts parts of the wetlands are not accessible by car because the main road is flooded. The surrounding fields are also under water and much of the waterfowl can be found outside of the boundaries of the wildlife management area and the bird refuge. Well, there is still plenty to see and with open eyes you may find a bird that is not always in the front row.

This was only the second time that I found a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in the wetlands. This bird came all the way from South America where they spend the winter. The cuckoo moved around in a small grove of willows and picked up caterpillars, its preferred food. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get closer and so I cropped this photo to make it work.

NATURE CLICKS #411 - YELLOW-BILLED CUCOO (A FIRST, FINALLY!!)

Yellow-bellied Cuckoo, near Durango, Iowa

We hear its distinctive , rattling call almost every day during the summer, very seldom we see the bird, and I have never had a chance to aim my glass at a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Until today! This cuckoo spends its time high up in the canopy of the trees and it is very difficult to spot it, even if you know where the bird might be, because of the unique call. This morning, after walking with our little dog Cooper, I heard the bird again and finally saw it sitting high up in a tree above our driveway. Well, against all common sense rules, I shot against a gray sky, but I wanted at least a documentary shot of this bird so badly that I gave a damn about rules. Of course, this is not a quality image. I cropped this picture to death, but still think it is an honest shot because I had no chance to get any closer. Last night we had thunderstorms with much needed rain passing through, for more than 12 hours. It looks like the cuckoo tried to use the first hint of sun to dry its feathers.