Well, I've never had a Cuckoo year like last year. No sign of any Common Cuckoos locally after they reappeared in the area during 2013. Disappointing. However, the one Cuckoo we did get was rare enough to attract some non-local birders to Beer Head on 4th April...
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| Great Spotted Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Great Spotted Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Great Spotted Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Great Spotted Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
This was my second British GSC, but the first was at Shoreham in Sussex in 1990(or was it '89?!), so a long interval between.It was found by a couple staying in the beach chalets at Branscombe as far as I'm aware, but I should thank Kevin Hale for relocating it after it flew to the Mitchell's Stile hedge as I was down at Beer end hoping it might have gone there. A hurried walk means my phonescoped video is overlaid with heavy breathing so I'll stick with still images today! What a shame the fog closed in and it couldn't be found the next day. The murky conditions in Cornwall in October reminded me of this as I struggled to see another species of Cuckoo in 100% cloud and drizzle. Yes, that's right - I twitched the Yellow-billed at Porthgwarra.( Well, I didn't visit Cornwall at all in 2013 and I missed it!) The drive down was dogged by traffic and there wasn't much daylight left when I got there-isn't Cornwall a long way from Devon! This meant I had to stay overnight in Penzance and go back the next day at first light. At first it remained very dreary with cloud and drizzle...
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
But then things improved..
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
However, the dense thickets made a clear shot difficult. So I spent most of the day trying to photograph it, even though I had planned to go see the nearby 'goodies' at Hayle, Penzance etc.
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
As there were lots of people there, it was difficult for me to get close enough for a perfect shot. Plus I'm a birder not a photographer- which is not meant as a sleight against photographers but an acknowledgement of my own failings-so I got some reasonable images but nothing 'award-winning'!
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
This blurred one made me laugh as it's still identifiable as a YBC!
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo ( Copyright T D Wright ) |
Anyhow, even though my pics are not very 'professional', it was still fantastic to see two species of Cuckoo in the Southwest in 2014. Just a shame that there wasn't a third-the once ubiquitous Common. Let's hope their decline can at least be halted, before it becomes irreversable.
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