More Cuckoos on a quiet Brecon Beacons walk.
06th June 2026
Susan and I were out again early yesterday morning up on our favourite area of common land. This was we thought the last chance before the poor weather forecast for this weekend came in, the weather at the moment is not suitable for walking these areas, they are too exposed and you would get wet, and your photographic kit would get wet which is much worse.
Few people visit this area, just locals usually, so it’s free from the masses of people that are drawn to the usual ‘Hot Spots’ of the Beacons. I can’t rationalize the mentality of these people who repeatedly walk up to Pen y Fan e.g. - as if it’s a badge of honour. Presumably It’s to do with their social media exposure, and I really can’t explain how much I detest those platforms. In addition, I don’t want to walk in a queue, and seeing the path leading up there from distance reminds me of a colony of marching ants.
I digress sorry;
A chilly wind blew under a grey sky as we left the car but it wasn’t too bad and as we walked up a slope the cloud cover broke up and blue-sky and sun appeared, transforming the morning. Skylarks now sang from on high, Meadow Pipits and Linnets darted for cover, Willow Warblers sang their descending song and a nice family of Stonechats sat atop a gorse bush.
As we reached the top of the slope, we were greeted by a wide expanse of common, a picturesque panorama bathed in warm sunshine. We walked on to a group of flat stones where we stopped and enjoyed a cup of coffee from my little flask - a Cuckoo called distantly, perfectly complimenting the scene.
Little did we know that wasn’t the only contact with a Cuckoo we would have that morning!
We resumed our walk; a few Painted Lady butterflies were on the wing and good numbers of Small Heath butterflies flitted around our feet and we watched a vocal Tree Pipit singing as it parachuted down to perch on a tree top. It was a most pleasant morning now and as we carried on to the end of the common, we could now hear the Cuckoo much nearer, but he remained frustratingly out of sight.
We had reached the half way point of our walk so we turned around and made our way back, the Cuckoo’s call, almost mockingly, became distant again.
As we approached a block of deciduous woodland, we could now hear another Cuckoo - much nearer this time. Suddenly he appeared being pursued by a string of birds, reminiscent of a child’s kite with streamers trailing behind, this is the life of a Cuckoo that most people don’t see.
Surprisingly I could now see it was coming straight at us and it zoomed right over the top of us. This is what happens sometimes when Cuckoos are being harassed by small birds, ordinarily they won’t go anywhere near people, but they just want to escape their tormentors.
As usual I had my little Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens slung over my shoulder, and I managed a few shots, it’s not easy when a Cuckoo is flying fast and remarkably close indeed - as little as twenty feet away! He was also up against a now white sky which is not good for exposure, but all you can do is try.
It’s extraordinarily difficult to get these up – close shots with a big prime lens. The field of view is so narrow and to hand hold them is so difficult because of weight and size. This is where these little manoeuvrable zoom lenses really come into their own.
He disappeared into the woodland and I thought that was it, but no, I could now see him flying low along this woodland edge, surprisingly close. This is the ultimate test for a camera and lens because when you have an uneven background behind a subject in flight the camera’s auto focus tracking system can become easily confused and jump around looking for focus.
Having said that the combination of my Canon R5 Mk2 and Canon Rf 100 -500 zoom lens is remarkably adept for these scenarios, and I could lock onto him as he flew quickly and erratically across me. Again, this is far from easy, but I managed a few shots before he disappeared for the last time.
Canon R5 Mk2 + Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens - Handheld.
500mm / f7.1 / 2500/sec / ISO 2000
We were both shocked but ultimately very pleased at this encounter as we contentedly made our way back to the car.
A nice walk had been unimaginably enhanced by a charismatic bird.
Few people visit this area, just locals usually, so it’s free from the masses of people that are drawn to the usual ‘Hot Spots’ of the Beacons. I can’t rationalize the mentality of these people who repeatedly walk up to Pen y Fan e.g. - as if it’s a badge of honour. Presumably It’s to do with their social media exposure, and I really can’t explain how much I detest those platforms. In addition, I don’t want to walk in a queue, and seeing the path leading up there from distance reminds me of a colony of marching ants.
I digress sorry;
A chilly wind blew under a grey sky as we left the car but it wasn’t too bad and as we walked up a slope the cloud cover broke up and blue-sky and sun appeared, transforming the morning. Skylarks now sang from on high, Meadow Pipits and Linnets darted for cover, Willow Warblers sang their descending song and a nice family of Stonechats sat atop a gorse bush.
As we reached the top of the slope, we were greeted by a wide expanse of common, a picturesque panorama bathed in warm sunshine. We walked on to a group of flat stones where we stopped and enjoyed a cup of coffee from my little flask - a Cuckoo called distantly, perfectly complimenting the scene.
Little did we know that wasn’t the only contact with a Cuckoo we would have that morning!
We resumed our walk; a few Painted Lady butterflies were on the wing and good numbers of Small Heath butterflies flitted around our feet and we watched a vocal Tree Pipit singing as it parachuted down to perch on a tree top. It was a most pleasant morning now and as we carried on to the end of the common, we could now hear the Cuckoo much nearer, but he remained frustratingly out of sight.
We had reached the half way point of our walk so we turned around and made our way back, the Cuckoo’s call, almost mockingly, became distant again.
As we approached a block of deciduous woodland, we could now hear another Cuckoo - much nearer this time. Suddenly he appeared being pursued by a string of birds, reminiscent of a child’s kite with streamers trailing behind, this is the life of a Cuckoo that most people don’t see.
Surprisingly I could now see it was coming straight at us and it zoomed right over the top of us. This is what happens sometimes when Cuckoos are being harassed by small birds, ordinarily they won’t go anywhere near people, but they just want to escape their tormentors.
As usual I had my little Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens slung over my shoulder, and I managed a few shots, it’s not easy when a Cuckoo is flying fast and remarkably close indeed - as little as twenty feet away! He was also up against a now white sky which is not good for exposure, but all you can do is try.
It’s extraordinarily difficult to get these up – close shots with a big prime lens. The field of view is so narrow and to hand hold them is so difficult because of weight and size. This is where these little manoeuvrable zoom lenses really come into their own.
He disappeared into the woodland and I thought that was it, but no, I could now see him flying low along this woodland edge, surprisingly close. This is the ultimate test for a camera and lens because when you have an uneven background behind a subject in flight the camera’s auto focus tracking system can become easily confused and jump around looking for focus.
Having said that the combination of my Canon R5 Mk2 and Canon Rf 100 -500 zoom lens is remarkably adept for these scenarios, and I could lock onto him as he flew quickly and erratically across me. Again, this is far from easy, but I managed a few shots before he disappeared for the last time.
Canon R5 Mk2 + Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens - Handheld.
500mm / f7.1 / 2500/sec / ISO 2000
We were both shocked but ultimately very pleased at this encounter as we contentedly made our way back to the car.
A nice walk had been unimaginably enhanced by a charismatic bird.