Yesterday morning while looking for breeding bird activity on private lands near Canon City I heard soft coo-coo-cooing calls. After some investigation I spotted a Yellow-billed Cuckoo skulking behind vegetation. I was able to get one photo, albeit not great as the bird stayed behind vegetation, but diagnostic. I have uploaded it to my Birds and Nature blog<http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com>. As soon as it heard the mechanical noise of my camera it flew out the back and disappeared into the vegetation. I was not able to refind it then nor in a few attempts since then as it is quite scrubby around the cottonwood and Russian Olive trees with a wetland in between.
It has been several years since there have been any Yellow-billed Cuckoos in the Canon City area. I believe they have nested here as I saw one some years ago with nesting material in it's bill. There have never been but a limited number of this species as I only recall one year when I heard them calling from several locations indicating more than 2 or 3 birds. I haven't seen any sign of their favorite food source, tent or other types of caterpillar infestations; however, I clearly recall that the last time I saw them in this area I said the same thing then a tent caterpillar infestation occurred, or at least was evident, within a few days. We do have a lot of cicadas around though. SeEtta Moss Canon City Blogging for Birds and Blooms magazine @ http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/author/seetta-moss/ Personal blog @ BirdsAndBlooms.blogspot.com<http://birdsandblooms.blogspot.com/> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
