Cuckoos in the rain.
02nd June 2026
Susan and I were out walking early this morning trying to avoid the showery weather we have been having lately. It still looked unsettled but we were hoping the showers wouldn’t be too frequent. As we strolled along a track with a conifer plantation on one side and a steep mountain on the other, we could hear a Cuckoo calling in the distance. Cuckoos like to perch up in conifer plantations; they like to call from the tree tops and in addition it’s also a good place to shelter from the weather and roost at night.
As we mover further along the track Spotted Flycatchers flitted around in the low tree branches front of us, three Song Thrushes looked for food on the track and a Common Redstart sung from the woods. However, a big grey cloud appeared ahead and we had to take cover under a tree while a heavy shower passed through.
The call of the Cuckoo got nearer and I could at last see him perched in a dead tree on the side of the track. Typically, when he saw us, he retreated backup high into the conifer belt. This was from a hundred yards away; these are nervous birds at the best of times.
When we got to the dead tree, we could hear him calling from the top of the plantation but he couldn’t see us from where he was perched. Opposite this dead tree there was another Hawthorn tree in flower on the other side of the track, only about fifteen yards away. Cuckoos are faithful to their favourite perches so I thought let’s give it a go, so Susan tucked away out of sight under some overhanging branches up against the plantation. My theory was that if after some time he came back out looking for food he might perch in this dead tree and because I was hidden behind the live hawthorn tree when he flew out, he wouldn’t see me below him.
However, out of nowhere another Cuckoo came flying past being pursued by a Meadow Pipit – two Cuckoos it was getting better! I took a quick record shot as he flew passed.
Advantageously for me Cuckoos don’t like other Cuckoos in their territory and this second bird prompted the first Cuckoo to come flying out of the plantation. It chased the second bird way but then as I hoped came fluttering over to its favourite perch – the dead tree – perfect!!
I had chosen to hide behind the live Hawthorn tree because when I first looked across at the dead tree the top branches were below the sky line, so there would be no silhouetting. If the branches were above the skyline I wouldn’t have had a good shot – it’s important. When you see a Cuckoo slowing down it flutters its wings like a giant butterfly, if this doesn’t happen then you know they are going straight over the tree top.
It landed on the highest branch of the dead tree right in front of me hidden fifteen yards away. I had my little Canon 100-500 lens resting on a branch and I shot him straight away – great feeling.
I shot him in a few poses before he to was mobbed by a Meadow Pipit causing him to fly away. Very soon another rain shower came in and we were forced to shelter again. After it cleared away, we walked back to the car before more rain came in. It was worth dodging the showers to get some nice views of one of my favourite birds.
As we mover further along the track Spotted Flycatchers flitted around in the low tree branches front of us, three Song Thrushes looked for food on the track and a Common Redstart sung from the woods. However, a big grey cloud appeared ahead and we had to take cover under a tree while a heavy shower passed through.
The call of the Cuckoo got nearer and I could at last see him perched in a dead tree on the side of the track. Typically, when he saw us, he retreated backup high into the conifer belt. This was from a hundred yards away; these are nervous birds at the best of times.
When we got to the dead tree, we could hear him calling from the top of the plantation but he couldn’t see us from where he was perched. Opposite this dead tree there was another Hawthorn tree in flower on the other side of the track, only about fifteen yards away. Cuckoos are faithful to their favourite perches so I thought let’s give it a go, so Susan tucked away out of sight under some overhanging branches up against the plantation. My theory was that if after some time he came back out looking for food he might perch in this dead tree and because I was hidden behind the live hawthorn tree when he flew out, he wouldn’t see me below him.
However, out of nowhere another Cuckoo came flying past being pursued by a Meadow Pipit – two Cuckoos it was getting better! I took a quick record shot as he flew passed.
Advantageously for me Cuckoos don’t like other Cuckoos in their territory and this second bird prompted the first Cuckoo to come flying out of the plantation. It chased the second bird way but then as I hoped came fluttering over to its favourite perch – the dead tree – perfect!!
I had chosen to hide behind the live Hawthorn tree because when I first looked across at the dead tree the top branches were below the sky line, so there would be no silhouetting. If the branches were above the skyline I wouldn’t have had a good shot – it’s important. When you see a Cuckoo slowing down it flutters its wings like a giant butterfly, if this doesn’t happen then you know they are going straight over the tree top.
It landed on the highest branch of the dead tree right in front of me hidden fifteen yards away. I had my little Canon 100-500 lens resting on a branch and I shot him straight away – great feeling.
I shot him in a few poses before he to was mobbed by a Meadow Pipit causing him to fly away. Very soon another rain shower came in and we were forced to shelter again. After it cleared away, we walked back to the car before more rain came in. It was worth dodging the showers to get some nice views of one of my favourite birds.