Friday, June 13, 2008

I’m Going Cuckoo: Yellow-billed Cuckoo that is


Prior to this spring and my foray into bird photography, I did not know that Cuckoos inhabited our area or even what they looked like.

A few weeks ago, I captured an unusual bird which my research proved to be a Black-billed Cuckoo. While reading the description of its call I realized that what I had been hearing throughout the evening was not the Black-billed Cuckoo in my photo, but rather a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I began to notice on subsequent evenings that I was hearing the Yellow-billed Cuckoos calling frequently; thus began my search for a good photo of the Yellow-bill.

Soon I located my first Yellow-billed but I was unable to capture a good image. Since the Cuckoos tend to stay in brushy areas; catching one exposed and well lighted proved to be a challenge. During many evening forays I heard the elusive Yellow-billed and on a few occasions was able to get identification quality photos, but a good quality photo eluded me, until last evening.

My wife & I visited my favorite lake. As I was fishing I heard a nearby Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling. Soon I located the bird sitting in some low trees along the lake shore. Upon retrieving my camera from the rear deck and checking the settings, I began approaching slowly. The Cuckoo flew from branch to branch searching for caterpillars. When conditions were right I began burst firing. The photo session ended as quickly as it began when the Cuckoo flew deeper into the woods.

8 comments:

Kerri Farley said...

Fabulous narrative and a great shot of the Cuckoo! It is soooo Exciting to find a new bird!!!
Well done!

DeeMom said...

WOW WHat a treat for you AND US,wow

Tom said...

I bet you were well pleased Salty.. It's a great life at time.. out at your favourite place, with your wife.. and a bird you have been after comes by... it really dose not get much better.

imac said...

Nice find Salty and of course you did a great job.


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Pat - Arkansas said...

I'm glad you persevered and that you were able to photo-capture this elusive bird. Nice shot!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Salty: Very nice capture of the Cuckoo in the wild.

Meggie said...

What a great shot, Salty. I love being able to rapid fire when the opportunity presents itself. I always hope for one good photos....

Anonymous said...

Good Job! :)