Good morning all,
 
 Had my first (and perhaps 2nd) Purple Finch in the yard this morning, a "brownie" that landed high in a tree over the woodpile. A bit later another (or perhaps the same) bird was at the seed feeders. I hoped to get a photo but the bird flew off when I got up for the camera. Would've been a nice close-up.

 Around 9 AM while I was sipping coffee and birding from the deck, I heard the unmistakable call of a Black-billed Cuckoo (at least 3 times). The only other birds present in the area of the calls were a trio of A. Crows. Has anyone ever heard crows imitate BB Cuckoos before? When I walked over to investigate, the crows flew into the farm field behind us, and the calling had ceased before I got too close, so am wondering if it was the crows or an actual cuckoo. It seems late for BB Cuckoo, and even later to hear one (do they call this late in migration?). Puzzling...

I have my feeders full and my bins clean, ready for my 2nd yard Big Sit, though I will probably only do the morning and a bit in late afternoon With the weather patterns we've had I expect fewer species than last years 40 species. Our Big Sit name is The Woodbinoculars!

Rick Sussman
Woodbine,MD