Kitchen Garden Forum

Our first cuckoo arrived this morning, Friday. When I look at my last 20 years' record in the area, it's quite a late date, but better late than never. Until 1996 it occasionally arrived in early May, but since then it's always been an April date, one year as early as 19 April! Just out of interest, in 1908 the first cuckoo in this area was heard on 29 April, so we are not too far out.

Dear Monika, it's the little things like hearing the first Cuckoo that i love about life.

Gosh you couldn't have been very old in 1908.

Cannot remember the last time I heard a cuckoo [Essex]

I heard my first cuckoo of the year when I was in the woods in Ambridge yesterday evening. I don't think Eddie and Will noticed it though as they had more serious matters to deal with.

John

Heard one this week..think it was Tuesday...first time heard here for a couple of years..

Clive.

Heard the first cuckoo here in Yorkshire yesterday and my friend heard one three days ago on her farm.

One year when I was a little girl a pair of Dunnocks were caring for a cuckoo chick at the top of our garden. It was enormous and they were frantically dashing about and stuffing food into its huge gaping beak all day long. They must have felt really proud of their giant baby, but should have had an inkling it wasn't taking after either of them.

Cuckoo today, 1st May last year, 27th April 2006, must be global cooling.

Hi all,

I was planting out some climbing french beans a couple of days ago in the afternoon and heard a cuckoo. As I listened it got louder, and two of the buggers flew over. One or both of them cuckooing all the way. I've heard the occasional one this year, but not many. That's definitely the first time I've seen two together though. Anyone else seen any this year?

Cheers, PJ.

This is the first year I have not heard a cuckoo as yet.

It'll have been a pair of them most likely, Parsons Jack, in which case only the male "cuckood". The female makes a sort of croaking noise. We have two pairs along the edge of the moor this year and their host birds are likely to be meadow pipits. I once saw a meadow pipit sitting on the top of a baby cuckoo's head and stuffing food down its wide gape, sideways! Most peculiar sight.

Hi Monika,

Thanks for the info. I suspected it might be. We have meadow pipits on the rough area between the golfcourse and the beach near here, so probably the same host. Although there are also some water courses with sedges and reeds around as well, so there might be some warblers with big offspring about

Cheers, PJ.