Resued Wisconsin Cuckoo Bird By Babs

Cool Facts

• Like the Black-billed Cuckoo, the young Yellow-billed Cuckoo develops incredibly quickly. The entire period from egg laying to fledgling leaving the nest lasts only 17 days. On day six or seven after hatching, the feathers of the young burst out of their sheaths, allowing the nestling to become fully feathered in two hours.
• Both parents build the nest, incubate the eggs, and brood the nestlings. They incubate and brood equally during the day, but the male takes the night shift. The male brings nest material every time he comes to the nest to take his turn. The female usually takes the offering and works it into the nest.
• Although the Yellow-billed Cuckoo usually raises its own young, occasionally it will lay its egg in the nest of another cuckoo, or even that of a different species. It has laid eggs in the nest of at least 11 different birds, most commonly in the nest of the Black-billed Cuckoo, American Robin, Gray Catbird, or Wood Thrush. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo may itself be the inadvertent host for an egg of a Black-billed Cuckoo or Brown-headed Cowbird.

The story is I discovered this bird in my garage last Sunday and couldn't coax him out of the rafters until exhaustion and the next day he couldn't muster enough energy to fly so I feed him some good old H2O and viola he flew away. I just didn't know there were cuckoo birds in Wisconsin (Australian song) and more so I didn't know how secretive they are. I went on line to Google "cuckoo bird sounds" AND now I know I had heard him but never saw him.
I simply amaze myself sometimes!

Sunday with Momio

Greetings and Felicitations and I have been a very busy girl. The garage floor is clean, the laundry room is painted (Adobe Straw) and shelved, this new front door is sealed with love 'n care, the zipper is fixed on Ron's rag top which he now gets to drive becuz last night a suicidal deer dove in to the grill...(of his truck not the Weber)...Well he won't be in Tundra company anytime soon. The repairs will hopefully be completed before the snow flies but past experience with Ironside Body Shop and the hail damage: I recall as being very slow. The good news is the deer is the only one who got hurt. We are fine. (I just realized there is a 'Hidden Picture' of the truck above just like those days of Highlights Magazine.)

And here I await the arrival of Greg soon to be a graduate student in Chicago. I and Ron are driving him to school today. Never thought I would be saying this about a 31 y/o! Seems he wants mom and dad to settle him into school again. Well this is a bit of an exaggeration.

And in the mail yesterday I got Volume One and Two of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A gift from one darling and adorable husband who never says no to buying anybody a book. I won't let him tell me how much they were either and he can't believe they are not hard cover. I need to find an acrylic cover in order to do any kitchen prep. I'll have great ride to Chicago reading today. On the way to our destination dinner last night I hit a dove. I joked then if I were a true Julia "Groupie" I would recover the road kill and we'd eat roasted squab. No jokes about the deer and Julia does do a sauce for venison...This is not funny.

The reason for the travel last eve was dinner @1800. As the result of my one friend of four in this fine town we were introduced to this restaurant and it has become our treat in the fine points of dining. The food is simply amazing. We even got to sit at the Marc Chagall table. More amazing than the occasion was the fact Ron gave up the MN vs AFA football game. Minnesota won for Josh and Gretchen. Go Gopher Fans Go Go GO! Josh said he saw the new stadium last night. Germany is just too far away. I missed my kids.

Plans for this week include more new WEB page work, Oprah's interview of Whitney tomorrow and Tuesday and I am thinking of painting our bathroom a healthy dose of golden wheat. I think it would "pop" the place. And I have to talk to Meg cuz she is thinking of more amazing changes than Greg...And Greg just drove-in.

P.S. Greg and Ron watched football and the 'Open' all afternoon. Seems Greg will 'road trip' to Chicago in the a.m. solo. (Think he read my blog.) And we dined on Chop Suey and Limeade. The Pack is on so the rest of the eve will be football. Have a great week.