Cuckoo sat on the old gum tree

Cuckoo sat on the old gum tree!

A YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO came flying in from somewhere and landed on a branch of one of the Tupelo trees (a.k.a. Pepperidge, a.k.a. Black Gum) at the head of the marsh. Cuckoos have not been common around here since the days of the Gypsy Moth infestations (cuckoos are among the few birds that eat the caterpillars). The bird, after posing for a bit, eventually flew but just moved down a notch onto an open low branch right in front of me; I could see the curved bill with its yellow lower mandible, dark eye with yellow orbital ring, trace of a white eyebrow, snow white breast, brown back, rufous wings and white tips on the edges of the tail. Best view I ever had of this charismatic species.

I did not see the Hooded Warbler again but all the other warblers of the past two days were present and in some numbers: Northern Waterthrushes all along the marsh edge, Yellow and Yellowthroats scattered around, a pair of Prairie Warblers and Black-and-White Warblers all around. Oh yes, a single American Redstart. Many Catbirds, some of them almost surely migrants. Ditto American Robins. All four woodpeckers again plus White-breasted Nuthatch and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

Eric Salzman