First Cuckoo

[roitelet]

Heard the first one today. Early???

[burnie]

It would be for us over here, they do say climate change is having an effect on wildlife.

[Mark_Riga]

Used to hear them here till about 6 years ago, not heard one since.

[Nicos]

Not yet....just checked back to previous threads and for us it's been during the first 2weeks of April.
Will certainly listen out for them now
How exciting!

[burnie]

Cuckoos are on the Red list in the UK, numbers are down a lot, we did hear one in our village in March about 10 years ago, rarely hear them now except up in the Glens, which I didn't expect.

[fishpond]

Haven't heard one for many years.
I wonder why they have declined---is it intensive farming/pesticides?

[Gillykat]

Haven't heard one for many years.
I wonder why they have declined---is it intensive farming/pesticides?

Mostly, yes! They feed on hairy caterpillars and, as we know, intensive farming is clearing the countryside so moth numbers, and hence caterpillars, are down too. I still hear them fairly frequently along the coastline of Northumberland as farming hasn't destroyed the dune systems....and in the upper valleys like Harthope, College and on Alnwick Moor which is a grouse moor.

[Nicos]

Still waiting...but found this interesting bit about their decline...

https://www.bto.org/science/latest-r...-routes-africa

[Nicos]

First one heard this morning!
Yipppeee!
About 5th-13 th in previous years so clearly a tad later than usual.

[Snoop Puss]

Ours usually makes itself heard around 10 April. So far, nothing. We've also lost a lot of our blackbird population in the valley.

[roitelet]

I haven’t heard one again, it must have been passing through.