Male Cuckoo
When I was a child I grew up with an urban, but heavily wooded cemetery on my doorstep. Every spring at least one Cuckoo was heard calling and usually spotted as it passed through and was heard for several consecutive days. I treasure in my memory one occasion in which 3 male Cuckoos were bellowing at each other from adjacent gravestones.
Occasionally, in the Autumn an immature bird was also noted on a memorial. However, on one particular notable occasion in 1973 a young individual spent some time in our garage. I
n the late 60s there were estimated to be around 55,000 female Cuckoos laying eggs. These days and at least for the past two decades we don’t hear Cuckoos passing through the cemetery in the Spring, but just occasionally we do spot an immature bird in the late Summer. The latest estimate is that there are now only 18,000 females. Declines in England are quite pronounced, but in Scotland, which holds a greater proportion of unimproved land the declines haven’t been so strong, and even small increases in density have been noted.
Since the classes have been running in the last two decades we have noticed that some copper-bottomed Cuckoo sites like Leven Canal or Kelsey Gardens no longer seem to hold the birds, or if they are heard they no longer spend so much time there as they once did. Despite the decline in sightings and even hearings, my birdwatching classes will be encountering Cuckoos and will even get good views at several sites in the next few weeks. So, if you haven’t heard a Cuckoo for years, or ever seen one, why not join the classes? Any good photos taken by class members will be shared on the blog in the next few weeks. The photo was taken in 2021 near Stone Creek.
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