Early morning on a Brecon Beacons hillside.
04th June 2024
I had a very early stake-out this morning on a hillside in the Brecon Beacons looking for Cuckoos. This area is not the most productive but some years it’s possible to find a Cuckoo there. The alarm went at 04.30 on a dry and wind free morning, which is a pleasant change. Everything had been packed up in the car last night ready for an early start and I was at the location by 05.15. I was able to drive onto the hill with my 4X4 because the ground is very firm at the moment and it is also common land with no animals grazing so no chance of disturbance. I had spoken to a local farmer yesterday to let him know that I would be there early so he knew there was nothing untoward happening. It’s always a good procedure to do this if possible because I find if you are reasonable with people in general they will reciprocate.
I knew what area this Cuckoo was frequenting because I had been watching him from the road a couple of days previous. After parking underneath a substantial tree to break up my outline I draped a very big piece of ‘Camo’ net right over my vehicle and sat inside with my Canon 600 f4 on a beanbag on the door with the lens poking out. This is a location where it’s not possible to get really close to the birds because the ground drops away quite steeply and it would be easy to have an accident like rolling over, which I most certainly do not want!
The light started to build but it was slow because of the cloud cover. I had some coffee and just sat there waiting – at least I was in comfort, feeling warm and not worried about any potential rain. I could hear him calling now, they’re always about early, and then the daily routine of the Cuckoo begins – being harassed by a plethora of small birds eager to drive him away from their nesting area. It was seven o’clock before I first saw him as he perched on the top of one of the trees I had been watching – creatures of habit!
I took a few shots and I knew realistically that this was as close as I was going to get because of the aforementioned geography.
He didn’t stay long though before he was driven off by his pursuers.
In a small bare bush next door a Stonechat perched and sung for a few minutes – pretty birds.
The Cuckoo flew past a few more times with a string of small birds in close pursuit, reminiscent of a child’s kite with tail streamers. Then surprisingly he just landed in the middle of a small Holly tree quite close to me, obviously fed up with the annoying small birds.
I quickly shot him before he was driven off again, which indeed wasn’t long.
As predicted rain had now began to fall, so I quickly pulled the 'Camo' netting off my vehicle, packed my kit away and reversed back up the hillside. It was now nine o’clock and I made my way back home in the ever increasing rain, time to call it a day.
I knew what area this Cuckoo was frequenting because I had been watching him from the road a couple of days previous. After parking underneath a substantial tree to break up my outline I draped a very big piece of ‘Camo’ net right over my vehicle and sat inside with my Canon 600 f4 on a beanbag on the door with the lens poking out. This is a location where it’s not possible to get really close to the birds because the ground drops away quite steeply and it would be easy to have an accident like rolling over, which I most certainly do not want!
The light started to build but it was slow because of the cloud cover. I had some coffee and just sat there waiting – at least I was in comfort, feeling warm and not worried about any potential rain. I could hear him calling now, they’re always about early, and then the daily routine of the Cuckoo begins – being harassed by a plethora of small birds eager to drive him away from their nesting area. It was seven o’clock before I first saw him as he perched on the top of one of the trees I had been watching – creatures of habit!
I took a few shots and I knew realistically that this was as close as I was going to get because of the aforementioned geography.
He didn’t stay long though before he was driven off by his pursuers.
In a small bare bush next door a Stonechat perched and sung for a few minutes – pretty birds.
The Cuckoo flew past a few more times with a string of small birds in close pursuit, reminiscent of a child’s kite with tail streamers. Then surprisingly he just landed in the middle of a small Holly tree quite close to me, obviously fed up with the annoying small birds.
I quickly shot him before he was driven off again, which indeed wasn’t long.
As predicted rain had now began to fall, so I quickly pulled the 'Camo' netting off my vehicle, packed my kit away and reversed back up the hillside. It was now nine o’clock and I made my way back home in the ever increasing rain, time to call it a day.