20 July 2004, 07:54
trans-pondSounds of Summer/Where have all the cuckoos gone?
I've heard one cuckoo this year. It's not until you lose something that you really start to appreciate it.
The epitome of early summers' morning, seems to becoming only a cherished memory. Can anyone shed some light on the problem? Mediterranean bird hunters?
I heard a lot in May/June. Now, it seems that they do not call that often.
Don�t forget to touch your wallet when you hear one. That�s suposed to fill it with money (old hunter's supersticion).
I heard my first cuckoo this year on the 9th (I think) of April, don't usually hear the first until the 1st or 2nd of May. Then once they start up here with us it is pretty non-stop until they pack in for the year. Having said that I don't know what date they packed it in, I always listen for the first of the year but the last is a mystery they just seem to fade away, but there does not seem to be a shortage of them up here with us.
Now the cuckoo has finished I can look forward to hearing the first Sika of the year.

John