Yellow-billed Cuckoo and… I’m going away again.

10 September 2013. Ruthven Park, Cayuga ON.  Now that the fall migration is really picking up steam, witness some really cool birds at the bird observatory today, I am about to depart for two weeks at the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory (BPBO).  BPBO is located on the east side of the Bruce Peninsula, a long finger of land that separates the enormous expanse of Georgian Bay from the vastness of Lake Huron.  It’s something of a flyway for migrating birds heading to and from northern Ontario.  I’m expecting exciting bird times, and to top it off the setting is pretty, it sits on the shore of a sheltered bay with the rugged, broken limestone shore of the lake on one side and expanses of forest backed by towering cliffs the other.

The point of all this is to say that since it’s a 45 minute drive to a coffee shop for internet access, postings will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks.

Back to today. It’s one of those odd September days when contrasting weather systems vie for dominance; currently a blanket of warm and moist air has taken charge producing record high temperatures.  This is expected to last for two days when the pendulum will swing back.  This warmth made funny things happen at the bird observatory, my census walk was deadly quiet.  I spotted just 17 species; I have no idea why so few, 25 to 30 would be more typical. The mist nets though were catching lots of birds, and some good ones too: Blackpoll Warblers, Blackburnian warbler, Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireos, Magnolia Warbler, Traill’s Flycatcher and a beautiful Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

Bird of the Day though was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that I found in a mist net on the last check of the day.  When I saw it from afar my first reaction to its size was Cuckoo, but that’s such a long shot that I promptly dismissed the idea and thought instead maybe a Blue Jay or, with such a long tail, perhaps a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  Well of course my first inkling was correct.  It squawked loudly as I gathered it up and we banded and let it go as quickly as we were able.  Here are a few shots of it and some of the other highlights.

To see the photos above you’ll need to be on the website, they’re not viewable if you’re reading this as an email.  (Or are they?  Post a comment and let me know what you’re able to see.)