Cuckoos flooding in to the Beacons.
29th May 2015
In a previous blog I was lamenting the lack of Cuckoos this spring. My historical sites for these birds were all barren, no sight or sound of any calling birds. The Cuckoos are always in by the first week of May and for me to find so little evidence of them was very disappointing indeed. However, yesterday I found another three at a site that doesn't usually support them, that made six in total, so things were looking up. More importantly I had heard two females uttering their characteristic 'Bubbling' calls, this is good news for breeding purposes. On the back of these sightings, today I went to one of my best sites for Cuckoos and to my delight I found another three birds including another female. That's a total of nine birds and three females, there must be a later migration of Cuckoos this year, or certainly a delay in birds coming north after they reach the UK.
Again I employed my tried and trusted 'Modus Operandi', wait and see if they have a pattern to where they are perching. I could see them perching in a dead Hawthorn tree about a hundred yards away and there was conveniently a thicket of Gorse nearby. I waited for them to fly out of sight and then I ran into the Gorse. I strung some 'Camo' netting across the gorse and just kept quiet and still. One thing I was not expecting was a bitterly cold wind to rise up and I wished I had brought more clothing, especially as a vicious rain shower descended. Luckily I had my Camo rain cover over my kit and I could also shelter inside the Gorse. After about an hours wait a male bird came flying towards me and then passed very close by and landed about five yards away in a Willow. I daren't move or he would have flown away and not returned, experience has taught me to never be impulsive and to 'sit tight' in these circumstances! Then what I was hoping for happened, he fluttered down from the Willow right onto the dead branches of the Hawthorn, he obviously couldn't see me. However, his back was turned to me, this was no good, so I stayed calm and still sat tight, then he began to call and he turned around and struck a perfect pose. This is what I was working for, I shot him immediately to capture the moment before he turned away again, but he stayed there for about half a minute and to top it all, the light was excellent.
It's a great feeling when things come together.
Again I employed my tried and trusted 'Modus Operandi', wait and see if they have a pattern to where they are perching. I could see them perching in a dead Hawthorn tree about a hundred yards away and there was conveniently a thicket of Gorse nearby. I waited for them to fly out of sight and then I ran into the Gorse. I strung some 'Camo' netting across the gorse and just kept quiet and still. One thing I was not expecting was a bitterly cold wind to rise up and I wished I had brought more clothing, especially as a vicious rain shower descended. Luckily I had my Camo rain cover over my kit and I could also shelter inside the Gorse. After about an hours wait a male bird came flying towards me and then passed very close by and landed about five yards away in a Willow. I daren't move or he would have flown away and not returned, experience has taught me to never be impulsive and to 'sit tight' in these circumstances! Then what I was hoping for happened, he fluttered down from the Willow right onto the dead branches of the Hawthorn, he obviously couldn't see me. However, his back was turned to me, this was no good, so I stayed calm and still sat tight, then he began to call and he turned around and struck a perfect pose. This is what I was working for, I shot him immediately to capture the moment before he turned away again, but he stayed there for about half a minute and to top it all, the light was excellent.
It's a great feeling when things come together.