Cuckoos calling (1 Viewer)

I was out birdwatching on the weekend and noticed a Cuckoo was still calling. Do the males continue to do this from arrival to departure. When do they leave?

Here's one of the most fascinating pieces of armchair birdwatching you could ever do

https://www.bto.org/our-science/pro...883o0_wjJhgFHuoCGx7B70lAQ-jSA1yRoC4xYQAvD_BwE

Each year and each individual seems to be a little different. But generally male Cuckoos leave UK by late June, females not long after. I hadn't looked at this graphic for a while (thanks for prompting me to look again).

'Late' singing could be down to a) an adult male not having sown all his seed yet b) a younger male arriving late and still looking for females or c) some other explanation. As the graphics above have indicated over the years, each individual bird has its own story to tell. I find extrapolating it out to all the millions birds migrating in the Northern Hemisphere - at the moment, specifically, Blyth's Reed and Marsh Warblers - turns my brain to pulp!!!

I miss hearing the call of the Cuckoo, last time I heard one was in South Uist a couple of years and I think that same year same holiday I saw one flying over when I was on Eriskay.

Euan Buchan said:

I miss hearing the call of the Cuckoo, last time I heard one was in South Uist a couple of years and I think that same year same holiday I saw one flying over when I was on Eriskay.

Click to expand...

Last year (17th Apr – 8th May) I walked 543 km through the Scottish Highlands, from Milngavie to Cape Wrath, wild camping all the way. Almost every day I heard cuckoos singing. Many times it was the first thing I heard when I woke up in the morning and sometimes also the last thing before falling asleep in the evening. So nice!

I have a walk report here (not a birding report, but some birds are mentioned and some photographed):
https://www.hikingbirdman.com/cape-wrath-trail-via-west-highland-way/