Here is the story of one of my best bird photography sessions ever. I rushed out to Dartmoor early and was sat waiting where I had been yesterday, for the Cuckoo. Not being naturally pessimistic when I heard a Cuckoo calling in the distance however, my first thought was that today wasn't going to be successful. Nevertheless, I sat waiting and concealed hoping for the best. I needn't have worried, suddenly he was calling from the tree 100mtrs to my left and then within only seconds he was literally in the branches of the dead tree, the roots of which I was hiding! Then up he went to he usual perch to my right and I took the first photo below.

Here he is, tail fanned and wings drooping, a typical Cuckoo pose.  He called for a minute or so and I took up my position, on my knees up against the bank with a clear view on to the short grass area.

After a while he started to feed and here he is having flown down to the short grass to grab a caterpillar.  The usual method of feeding is to sit  high in a branch and search the grass for prey. When one is spotted and it can be from quite a distance away, even 40 feet or more, the bird first bobs his head repeatedly. This is  thought to be a way of judging distance, before then gliding down to pick up the prey. On this occasion he couldn't find it and flew back up empty beaked.

This is the second of a series of four images taken in a second, capturing the bird in flight.  It can be very frustrating to photograph because you are aware that you are being given the opportunity of a lifetime and when you miss the chance it's easy to curse. The main problem is finding the bird when it lands, you have just a second or two to find the bird, point the camera and focus before it flies back up with its prey. Sometimes you manage it but usually you don't. This time I did!

In the end today I managed about 10 in flight shots. It's always a better  image with a natural vegetation background and the secret is to focus on the bird while its stationary and then press the shutter and all the while try to follow the flight path with the camera resting on  the solid earth, not easy but very rewarding.

During the session from time to time he disappeared and at first I didn't know why but then I saw another Cuckoo in the large tree, it didn't call so I am asuming that it was a female responding to "our" males calling.  He went off  in a hurry to investigate this bird.  I was hoping that it would join him in front of the camera but no such luck……. there's always tomorrow? 

This is the bird flying back with a caterpillar, this time a small one, sometimes they are much bigger. It is interesting to note though, that all food is taken back to the perch to be eaten.  I haven't seen them eating prey on the ground.

Like I said, sometimes the prey is quite a lot bigger.