August 02, 2008

Of Cuckoos and Careers

I spotted what will, in all likelihood, be my last Arizona life bird...at least for a little while anyway. I was walking to work yesterday morning when I encountered a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I'd been trying to find one of these ever since I learned they nested here. It took me until four days before we move to actually see one. Fortunately, I had a video camera with me, so I got some footage of the encounter:


And speaking of our big move, it's looking very likely that Sonja will have a job waiting for her when we arrive at Glacier! She'll be working as a bio-tech doing wildlife observations along the Going to the Sun Road. From what her new supervisor says, the job focuses mostly on grizzly-road interactions, so she'll be spending most of her time looking for bears. Both of us are really excited for this really amazing opportunity for her! Everything just seems to be coming together perfectly for us.

We leave on Tuesday morning, and plan on arriving in our new, temporary home on Friday. I hope to post at least once more before we leave, but you know how I tend to be about that. Either way, I'll be sure to post some pictures of Montana as soon as we get settled in.

5 comments:

Steve said...

got a good look at the yellow-billed cuckoo, but what sort of cuckoo was the other one? the one in the funny hat.

congrats on the bear watching gig Sonja! i remember reading a very topical book during one of my visits to glacier in my youth. the title was night of the grizzlies. you can borrow it if you like.

kippur said...

What a great gig Sonja. Have fun on your trip north!!!

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, you are going to love Glacier. The birding and hiking is great. It will be a big climatic shift from the heat.

TR Ryan said...

I am holding two tickets for fencing today if you can make it. Millennium Towers, Oriental Plaza, third floor...ask for Tim.

Anonymous said...

Hey Paul,
How did your first year in Glacier Park go?

Paul Spade here from Columbia Falls (Montana Stock Photos). I met you on Hidden Lake Trail when you first came up. We were taking photos of Mountain Goats.