Last Thursday I had been out to the moor and had a fortunate encounter with a female cuckoo who was intent on laying. She had been investigating some low shrub and heather obviously looking for an occupied nest. It was an interesting encounter but a bit distant. Last night, armed with a bit more knowledge about the species and realising that they seem to be a more active in the evening I went back with a plan. I took the chair hide and placed it closer to the potential for action. I sat it out for a couple of hour! I knew it was going to be a waiting game and a bit hit and miss. To get to the point, no female arrived in front of me but I increased my knowledge and therefore my chances of getting a photo considerably. As I sat there and the evening wore on the males became really active and I recognised at least 3 by their calls which would have been hard to tell apart but being a trained and professional musician I have a good “ear” and I could tell by the pitch of the calls that there were several individuals.
Suddenly very close a cuckoo was literally only feet from the hide but behind me and I can tell you that their calls when close, are very loud! It then flew off up the little valley to my left and perched on the solitary pine tree but now too far away for anything like a good picture. Later on in the evening on my walk back I noticed that this tree was a favoured perch. My plan is to go again this evening and place the hide with a good view of this tree and hope for the best!
As I sat in the hide a few bird watchers walked down the path to my right. They were unaware of me which proves that the hide is good but I was certainly aware of them. Firstly they were noisy, and all wearing bright white or very light tops. The first indication that someone was around was the sudden silence around me apart from their talking. The birds were really aware of them! But in their totally unsuitable attire they stood out like beacons in a desert! I wonder if people realise that with just a tiny bit more thought and dressing for the occasion they could be so much more successful and their walk would be so much more fruitful.
Earlier in the evening prior to the cuckoo attempt I had gone to take Redstart photos and with the use of the flash got some belting photos.
This time I managed better photos of the female emerging from the box.
On my walk down to the cuckoo territory I took photos of a Pipit which is 99% a meadow but was perched on the top of this Holly Bush/Tree and giving a good impression of a Tree Pipit. I don’t find Pipits easy to separate and I am sure that I am not alone in this, but in spite of wanting to turn every pipit I see in to either a water or tree pipit I am pretty sure that we have a Meadow Pipit here, nice never the less.