Guillermo

Dennis Zechiel

The title of this post takes a long time getting there, but Bill is in the name of our recent yard resident. Ten months ago I asked Dennis, our good friend and neighbor, to help me suspend a tray feeder. I tied off a clothesline high and between some pine trees while standing on his long extension ladder. I wanted to lure some more reticent members of our community to savor the delights of ripe bananas.

Ramphastos sulfuratus

This past week we finally saw the Keel-billed Toucan that has been calling for weeks in our neighborhood. He is a wary one. It would appear that by size alone he could dominate, but instead, there are many minutes of watchful waiting until the tray is clear of competition before he makes a move. Now I hope the other customers leave some scraps for the new visitor. And of course, I pile on extra to help.

Along with the wait, there is a long period of croaking as he sizes up the situation, as the video shows. And I consider him a "he" based on the racket. He could only be advertising the bounty for a suitable mate.