July 8, 2007 [LINK / comment]

Midsummer country birding

In hopes of finding orioles (either Baltimore or Orchard), I drove to various suitable stream-side breeding habitats east of town Saturday morning, without success. I did spot a number of interesting species, however, most notably a Yellow-billed cuckoo lurking in the bushes only about 50 feet away. This Indigo bunting was in the same location, at the nursery on New Hope Road on the east side of Staunton. Yesterday's highlights:

• Indigo buntings (M, F)
• Goldfinches
• Kingbirds
• Meadowlark
• Least flycatcher
• Phoebes (A, J)
• Yellow-billed cuckoo
• Kingfisher

I've been hearing Mockingbirds and Killdeers quite often in the middle of the night lately. When do they sleep???