[mou] Where the army worms go, so go the Black-billed Cuckoos (N.E. MN)

[Christine Olson]

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This morning, Jerry Wozniak and I birded the road (Morse Road) between Hwy 169 and Great Scott WMA, just south of Buhl, in NE MN.  The army worms, or forest tent caterpillars, were so thick in some areas that we could not only see them, but also hear them and smell them!  Disgusting!!!
 
But fortunately, black-billed cuckoos are one of the few animals that will eat army worms, and they are feasting here!  We heard the plaintive coo-coo-coo at several locations along Morse Road, and were treated to a glimpse of a cuckoo before he lifted off.  I'm confident we could have seen more cuckoos if we were willing to trudge through the wormy trees, which frankly, I was not (call me a wimp!).  
 
Other nice birds for us were:

   Mourning Warbler
   Nashville Warbler
   Common Yellowthroat
   American Redstart
   Ovenbird
   Veery
   Great-crested Flycatcher
   Alder Flycatcher
   Least Flycatcher
   Cedar Waxwings

Christine Olson - Chisholm


Peace




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<DIV>This morning, Jerry Wozniak and I birded the road (Morse Road) between Hwy 169 and Great Scott WMA, just south of Buhl, in NE MN.&nbsp; The army worms, or forest tent caterpillars, were so thick&nbsp;in some areas that we could not only see them, but also <STRONG><EM>hear</EM></STRONG> them and <EM><STRONG>smell</STRONG></EM> them!&nbsp; <EM><STRONG>Disgusting</STRONG></EM>!!!</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>But fortunately, black-billed cuckoos are one of the few animals that will eat army worms, and they are feasting here!&nbsp; We heard the plaintive <EM>coo</EM>-<EM>coo-coo </EM>at several locations along Morse Road, and were treated to a glimpse of a cuckoo before he lifted off.&nbsp; I'm confident we could have seen more cuckoos if we were willing to trudge through the wormy trees, which frankly, I was not (call me a wimp!).&nbsp; </DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>Other nice birds for us were:</DIV>
<UL>
<LI>Mourning Warbler</LI>
<LI>Nashville Warbler</LI>
<LI>Common Yellowthroat</LI>
<LI>American Redstart</LI>
<LI>Ovenbird</LI>
<LI>Veery</LI>
<LI>Great-crested Flycatcher</LI>
<LI>Alder Flycatcher</LI>
<LI>Least Flycatcher</LI>
<LI>Cedar Waxwings</LI></UL>
<P>Christine Olson - Chisholm</P><BR><BR><DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#407f00 size=5><STRONG><IMG style="WIDTH: 31px; HEIGHT: 29px" height=29 src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/40.gif" width=31>Peace</STRONG></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV><p><hr SIZE=1>
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