Cuckoos

[harrycatcat1]

On 12/05/2020 at 10:01, derbyduck said:

saw one about 3 weeks ago flipping and flopping about 60 yrds from home  ,first one iv'e seen in 40 odd years , but its all been cut down for building on😕

Posted this on the other cuckoo thread I hope you can hear it. Just topside of Holymoorside 👍

 

[panoma1]

Still no cuckoo  but saw first Swallow and Swifts of the summer, this afternoon.

[Old Boggy]

Have been hearing a cuckoo now for three weeks now on our daily walks. Our walks on the marsh also see plenty of skylarks, a few yellow and grey wagtails, the now common goldfinches, one or two blackcaps, the odd corn bunting and a pair of grey partridges. However, hares are a rarity here, whereas once you could always see one or two at this time of year looking down the tramlines in the wheat. Most common now are buzzards and the odd marsh harrier.

OB

[NatureBoy]

13 hours ago, islandgun said:

Iv'e never seen or heard a Bittern, understand they are reasonably common in East Anglia now

A lot more than there were IG. Very odd sound you can almost feel as well depending on distance and weather conditions. It's all about the Bass with bitterns. 😉 In fact if you went to minsmere/Dunwich this time of year you would be unlucky not to hear or see one. Or hear/see a cuckoo. I have found still evenings best time. Marsh harriers seem common that way these days to. . . . Going to be a good year for nightingales my way. Hearing loads of reports of them being seen and singing locally after i reported seeing and hearing one. Several pairs about, most popular place the local sewage works though. 2 pairs there. Getting more reports of turtle doves to.. . . I got just as excited seeing two young song thrushes in my garden today. Watched them for ages. Not so many of them about. Mistle thrushes nested near mine for first time in several years to. My garden heaving with birds old and young today. Some ringed. Filling feeders daily. Bird baths (sunken old belfast sinks) busy and full of critters. Goldfinches feasting on dandelion heads. 3 out of 5 young robins still about and still sometimes getting fed by parent. Female sitting on 6 eggs in there second nest that should hatch Friday/Saturday. 11 species nesting or attempting to nest in my semi wild  garden so far. 

 I don't know about you guys but With lockdown i have had lot of people asking about birds, attracting birds, nest boxes, feed. feeders, water and habitat in there gardens etc. A lot seeing and bothered about predators! What they can do to stop them! This a good time for us to educate and show folk how nature really works! Why! Magpies, crows, jackdaws, rooks, squirrels are raiding there gardens. Why! We are not the casual killers WJ and other orgs who want there money portray is to be. Why and how we do pest control! Not just for crop /food/livestock protection! But to help the uneven balance  between the songbirds and predators! Why if they have cats and still attract bird to there gardens they will see them kill birds and destroy nests. Why! If they feed whole peanuts, large food items and bread on a open bird table or floor this time of year it can get fed to young birds, they will choke or can't digest it and die. Why! Doing so will attract more of the destructive predators and pests they complain about! Most get it  listen and support why and what we do. But there is still a lot of ignorance out there. I try and steer all these folk towards SBS, CRT and tell them what i think of RSBB and the other commercial money making orgs.       

[derbyduck]

16 hours ago, harrycatcat1 said:

Posted this on the other cuckoo thread I hope you can hear it. Just topside of Holymoorside 👍

 

yes Harry could just hear it , saw  my first swift yesterday and what could have been a swallow or house marten ! Newbold Back lane ,  Harry was you out jogging up Holymoreside  Top ?🏃‍♂️

[JDog]

We spent an hour in perfect Cuckoo territory yesterday without so much as a cuck or an oo. As a last resort I cupped my hands together and imitated a male Cuckoo calling and within a minute one appeared out of nowhere and landed close by, my first of the season.

 

[TIDES EDGE]

7 minutes ago, JDog said:

We spent an hour in perfect Cuckoo territory yesterday without so much as a cuck or an oo. As a last resort I cupped my hands together and imitated a male Cuckoo calling and within a minute one appeared out of nowhere and landed close by, my first of the season.

 

JDog we have had them in our part of Kent since the end of march I even saw two together the other day which is first for me .

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, well done Jd, not an easy bird to imitate so you must have got it just right,  

[twenty]

Did you know the female cuckoo can lay around 15-20 eggs per season,

These are parasite laid into a host birds egg clutch,

By being able to retain their egg internally for 24hrs, the female cuckoo ensures that its chick hatches first (internal incubation),.... the cuckoo chick then ejects the remainder of the hosts clutch.

The range of hosts exceeds 30 species (in the UK),.....favourites being, Meadow pipit, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler and Garden warbler,

The female cuckoo can alight on the host nest, and deposit her egg within 10 seconds..........as the host clutch is incomplete, the female host has not started incubation, therefore, the nest is open and vulnerable to this visit.

Still like the call though.

[harrycatcat1]

1 hour ago, derbyduck said:

yes Harry could just hear it , saw  my first swift yesterday and what could have been a swallow or house marten ! Newbold Back lane ,  Harry was you out jogging up Holymoreside  Top ?🏃‍♂️

No I wasn't jogging, my jogging days are over 🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍

In fact I've never jogged, too much like hard work 🤔🤔🤔

[KFC]

At my syndicate trout lake this morning. One Cuckoo sat on power lines calling to my left then an answering call from Ash trees on my right. Cuckoo on my left flew to the Ash trees then a constant call from both of them. A few minutes later the pair of them flew off calling as they went.

I guess they'll be looking for nest to hijack soon.

[derbyduck]

6 hours ago, harrycatcat1 said:

No I wasn't jogging, my jogging days are over 🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍

In fact I've never jogged, too much like hard work 🤔🤔🤔

Oh  Harry don't tell me you where dogging LOL.

 

7 hours ago, twenty said:

Did you know the female cuckoo can lay around 15-20 eggs per season,

These are parasite laid into a host birds egg clutch,

By being able to retain their egg internally for 24hrs, the female cuckoo ensures that its chick hatches first (internal incubation),.... the cuckoo chick then ejects the remainder of the hosts clutch.

The range of hosts exceeds 30 species (in the UK),.....favourites being, Meadow pipit, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler and Garden warbler,

The female cuckoo can alight on the host nest, and deposit her egg within 10 seconds..........as the host clutch is incomplete, the female host has not started incubation, therefore, the nest is open and vulnerable to this visit.

Still like the call though.

Did you know it's one of the few birds that fly backwards ?

[twenty]

1 hour ago, derbyduck said:

Oh  Harry don't tell me you where dogging LOL.

 

Did you know it's one of the few birds that fly backwards ?

Back into the clock........hummingbirds can fly backwards.

[alan barrett]

Walking the dogs this evening heard the first  cuckoo around here for probably 5/6 years. Bitterns are resident around some of the old  clay pits locally. 

 

[samboy]

Still hearing the Cuckoo every day where i am but i dont think i've ever seen one and also saw a Bittern 3 times in a fortnight

and didn't even know what it was as i'm not really into birds. It was only about 40 ft away from me as it took off.

Was only when i described it to some friends that i found out it was a Bittern. Plus it let out a large boom as it took off.

[TRINITY]

On 14/05/2020 at 08:59, twenty said:

Did you know the female cuckoo can lay around 15-20 eggs per season,

These are parasite laid into a host birds egg clutch,

By being able to retain their egg internally for 24hrs, the female cuckoo ensures that its chick hatches first (internal incubation),.... the cuckoo chick then ejects the remainder of the hosts clutch.

The range of hosts exceeds 30 species (in the UK),.....favourites being, Meadow pipit, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler and Garden warbler,

The female cuckoo can alight on the host nest, and deposit her egg within 10 seconds..........as the host clutch is incomplete, the female host has not started incubation, therefore, the nest is open and vulnerable to this visit.

Still like the call though.

Yes they are cunning critters. I also believe the egg that is laid also resembles the colour and marking of the particular hosts nest. I stand to be corrected if I a wrong on this. However back in the egg collecting days of my youth we found lots of nests with cuckoo eggs and the colour variety was vast. Either all the females eggs were the same design so she restricted her eggs to the host that matched, or she could alter her egg pigmentation to match each nest.  

Any experts out there ?

[7daysinaweek]

On 14/05/2020 at 00:59, NatureBoy said:

A lot more than there were IG. Very odd sound you can almost feel as well depending on distance and weather conditions. It's all about the Bass with bitterns. 😉 In fact if you went to minsmere/Dunwich this time of year you would be unlucky not to hear or see one. Or hear/see a cuckoo. I have found still evenings best time. Marsh harriers seem common that way these days to. . . . Going to be a good year for nightingales my way. Hearing loads of reports of them being seen and singing locally after i reported seeing and hearing one. Several pairs about, most popular place the local sewage works though. 2 pairs there. Getting more reports of turtle doves to.. . . I got just as excited seeing two young song thrushes in my garden today. Watched them for ages. Not so many of them about. Mistle thrushes nested near mine for first time in several years to. My garden heaving with birds old and young today. Some ringed. Filling feeders daily. Bird baths (sunken old belfast sinks) busy and full of critters. Goldfinches feasting on dandelion heads. 3 out of 5 young robins still about and still sometimes getting fed by parent. Female sitting on 6 eggs in there second nest that should hatch Friday/Saturday. 11 species nesting or attempting to nest in my semi wild  garden so far. 

 I don't know about you guys but With lockdown i have had lot of people asking about birds, attracting birds, nest boxes, feed. feeders, water and habitat in there gardens etc. A lot seeing and bothered about predators! What they can do to stop them! This a good time for us to educate and show folk how nature really works! Why! Magpies, crows, jackdaws, rooks, squirrels are raiding there gardens. Why! We are not the casual killers WJ and other orgs who want there money portray is to be. Why and how we do pest control! Not just for crop /food/livestock protection! But to help the uneven balance  between the songbirds and predators! Why if they have cats and still attract bird to there gardens they will see them kill birds and destroy nests. Why! If they feed whole peanuts, large food items and bread on a open bird table or floor this time of year it can get fed to young birds, they will choke or can't digest it and die. Why! Doing so will attract more of the destructive predators and pests they complain about! Most get it  listen and support why and what we do. But there is still a lot of ignorance out there. I try and steer all these folk towards SBS, CRT and tell them what i think of RSBB and the other commercial money making orgs.       

I have not heard a cuckoo for years. What an encouraging write up, excellent news and what a sound and sight for the eyes. 👍

[marsh man]

On 14/05/2020 at 08:59, twenty said:

Did you know the female cuckoo can lay around 15-20 eggs per season,

These are parasite laid into a host birds egg clutch,

By being able to retain their egg internally for 24hrs, the female cuckoo ensures that its chick hatches first (internal incubation),.... the cuckoo chick then ejects the remainder of the hosts clutch.

The range of hosts exceeds 30 species (in the UK),.....favourites being, Meadow pipit, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler and Garden warbler,

The female cuckoo can alight on the host nest, and deposit her egg within 10 seconds..........as the host clutch is incomplete, the female host has not started incubation, therefore, the nest is open and vulnerable to this visit.

Still like the call though.

Very interesting twenty and THANKS for sharing .

There is a decent wildlife program on Radio Norfolk each week about the countryside in general , the other day there was a bit about Cuckoo's that had a radio transmitter fitted on there backs , one of them was named after the presenter ( Chris Skinner ) , he was saying they followed it as far as Angolia and then they didn't hear no more .

I saw a Cuckoo the other morning lite in the tree in front of me , at first I thought it was a Sparrow Hawk for how it was flying , but once landed it started to call out and it is nigh on impossible to get it wrong once you hear it ,

They also mentioned the Swift , they were saying when the weather turn cold and they can't find any insects for the young they can go around the jet stream and go as far as the med while the young go into semi hibernation until the parents get back with a crop full of feed , this could take 3/4 days , fascinating stuff, always something new to learn about our bird life .

[JDog]

I heard a good number and saw several different individual Cuckoos yesterday in a known Cuckoo hotspot.

[daisyrob1]

Never seen one or so I thought, had one calling in work for 4 to 5 weeks really close but couldn't pick it out, then this morning there was a commotion above my head three jackdaws mobing a sparrowhawk after about four laps of the valley jackdaws give up and the sparrowhawk takes a well deserves rest on a tree forty yards away, I get the binos out of the van and its a cuckoo, can only assume jackdaws mistook as a sparrowhawk as well

[twenty]

12 hours ago, TRINITY said:

Yes they are cunning critters. I also believe the egg that is laid also resembles the colour and marking of the particular hosts nest. I stand to be corrected if I a wrong on this. However back in the egg collecting days of my youth we found lots of nests with cuckoo eggs and the colour variety was vast. Either all the females eggs were the same design so she restricted her eggs to the host that matched, or she could alter her egg pigmentation to match each nest.  

Any experts out there ?

Different female Cuckoos can lay eggs with Blue, Brown, Grey and Green base colours, with different combinations of spots and patterning,  But each individual bird can only lay eggs with one base colour.

So different females specialize on different host species.

[twenty]

10 hours ago, daisyrob1 said:

Never seen one or so I thought, had one calling in work for 4 to 5 weeks really close but couldn't pick it out, then this morning there was a commotion above my head three jackdaws mobing a sparrowhawk after about four laps of the valley jackdaws give up and the sparrowhawk takes a well deserves rest on a tree forty yards away, I get the binos out of the van and its a cuckoo, can only assume jackdaws mistook as a sparrowhawk as well

Yeah, Cuckoos are very often mistaken for sparrowhawks when in flight, the silhouette is almost identical.............Even the colouring of cuckoos resemble the sparrowhawk, with a slate grey back, horizontal chest barring, elongated tail,.......and even the hint of a hooked beak.

[panoma1]

Heard and saw my first cuckoo of the season on Wednesday when fishing?

I don’t think the flight pattern between the sparrow hawk and a cuckoo is comparable! 
 

[Mice!]

On 14/05/2020 at 08:59, twenty said:

being able to retain their egg internally for 24hrs, the female cuckoo ensures that its chick hatches first (internal incubation),..

I didn't know that, thanks.

 

13 hours ago, marsh man said:

They also mentioned the Swift , they were saying when the weather turn cold and they can't find any insects for the young they can go around the jet stream and go as far as the med while the young go into semi hibernation until the parents get back with a crop full of feed , this could take 3/4 days , fascinating stuff, always something new to learn about our bird life .

Or that..

43 minutes ago, twenty said:

Yeah, Cuckoos are very often mistaken for sparrowhawks when in flight, the silhouette is almost identical.............Even the colouring of cuckoos resemble the sparrowhawk, with a slate grey back, horizontal chest barring, elongated tail,.......and even the hint of a hooked beak.

I've always thought I've never seen a Cuckoo,  but I'm now wondering if the glimpses that I've thought Sparrow hawk could have been Cuckoos??

[TRINITY]

1 hour ago, twenty said:

Different female Cuckoos can lay eggs with Blue, Brown, Grey and Green base colours, with different combinations of spots and patterning,  But each individual bird can only lay eggs with one base colour.

So different females specialize on different host species.

That's interesting. So can we assume that one major reason for the cuckoo decline could be linked to the decline of their host species. For instance we used to come across their eggs in meadow pipit nests. However we have had no meadow pipits in my area for years.