Birders are going cuckoo for a rare sight on Long Island. The common cuckoo bird has been spotted only four times in U.S. history in the lower 48 states, experts say. Now, it’s in Riverhead. 

Hundreds of people have traveled from dozens of states, hoping for a glimpse of the bird that is native to Europe and was blown off course.

Golfer makes a once-in-a-life-time discovery

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Roy William Gardner said he was in a golfcart moving between holes when he spotted a rare cuckoo bird in Riverhead, Long Island.

CBS News New York

“We started a crazy viral birder insanity,” said Roy William Gardner, the eagle-eyed golfer who first saw the cuckoo.

Gardner said he was in a golfcart moving between holes when he spotted “an unusual bird going post to post.” He texted photos of the bird to his nephew, an ornithologist from Cornell and now a bird biologist at UCLA. 

“It’s pretty amazing that my uncle, who’s a non-birder, can send a text message across the country,” said nephew Christopher Sayers. 

Within minutes, the bird species was identified by UCLA and Cornell. 

“He said, ‘what you have there is called a lifer.’ He goes, ‘people go their whole lifetime and not see this,'” Gardner said. 

Birders flocking to Riverhead for a glimpse of cuckoo

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Bird lovers are flocking to Riverhead, Long Island for a glimpse of a rare cuckoo bird.

CBS News New York

Soon, bird lovers started arriving by ferry, plane and car. 

“This is an amazing find,” one person said.

“He lives in Europe and he winters in Africa, so for him to be this far off course,” another marveled.

Was the cuckoo bird possibly blown into New York on the wings of the recent nor’easter? 

“You’ve gotta go find it!”

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A rare cuckoo bird is drawing a crowd in Riverhead, Long Island.

Daniel Franc

Farms and golf courses have been allowing the visitors onto their properties to spot the cuckoo. The local Riverhead Times reported 225 sightings in two days. 

“It does have a classic cuckoo song, but this is going to be a migrating individual,” Sayers explained. 

It’s too young to be vocalizing, but it’s showing off its plumage, gray and white body and long tail. 

“If you want to go see it, you’ve gotta go find it!” said Gardner. 

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