An elusive Yellow-Billed Cuckoo was spotted in Petrified Forest National Park this summer. It was the first sighting in the area since the 1980s.
On July 15, 2024 a cuckoo song was recorded and on August 15th, 2024 an individual bird was observed during routine bird surveys, according to the NPS release.
The Yellow-Billed Cuckoo’s range extends across North, Central and South America. While the population in the Eastern states is fairly stable, flocks in the Southwest are facing significant population declines since much of the species’s riparian habitat has been converted to farmland and housing
Western populations of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo have been listed by the Fish and Wildlife service as threatened since November 2014.
Since the Petrified Forest National Park boundaries have expanded, there is now over 26 miles of protected river habitat for the birds. The Yellow-Billed Cuckoo is most likely to roost in the area during their breeding season from June through August, but officials reported signs of them breeding in the park again have yet to be observed.
Biologist Dylan Schneider with the Petrified Forest National Park told KJZZ Phoenix, “Everyone didn’t expect them to be here. Our habitat is pretty mediocre at best, so we were pretty excited.”
Surveys of the riparian areas of the park will continue in future years, according to the release. They hope restoration efforts along the Puerco River will improve the habitat for this secretive bird.
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