May 14, 1994
I was part of the planning team for this event, and was also glad to participate. My team covered Notre Dame and St. Mary’s. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep detailed notes of this outing, but I do remember some of the birds I saw that day.
I clearly remember my first cuckoo – a Black-billed Cuckoo – in a tree at the edge of a clearing. It must have been a juvenile, because the bird had a noticeably red eye. We flushed a pair of Wood Duck out of hiding from a stream on St. Mary’s property, and I also had a really close up look at a male Woodie who was apparently helping a female Mallard raise her chicks at one of the Notre Dame lakes. I don’t know if the chicks were his or if he was just helping out, but it was interesting behavior either way. We saw a large flock of Cedar Waxwing on the island in one of the Notre Dame lakes, along with lots and lot of Canada Goose, in family groups with adults and juveniles.
Species List
Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus), Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos)
Let me know what you think!