The Summer of 2022 will go down in my book as the “Year of the Cuckoo!”. Cuckoos are late arrivant migrants from South America which seem to be extremely numerous this year. The Wisconsin DNR guys have counted a huge number during their grassland population surveys. One great spot to see grassland birds are the farms along Wisconsin 13 as it winds towards Port Wing. The road starts just a few miles south of Superior on US53/US2. (see an earlier blog post which gives the location of the Johnson Mitigation Wetlands). Most years I am lucky to see even one cuckoo, but this year is different. Here are a few images from my cuckoo morning … right on Balsam Bend Road in the Johnson Mitigation Wetlands. However, most dirt roads that have farmland along side are good grassland birding locations (starting when you reach Poplar River Road).
Fun to see