Juvenile Cuckoo with Meadow Pipit attendants
I’m walking along the beach at Mae Sands on a beautiful morning. I’m heading out to see one of the Arctic Tern colonies on Westray in the hope of getting some action photographs. The sand at Mae Sands is beautiful white shell sand and the sea is an intense turquoise. It’s idyllic and has all the colours of the Caribbean rather than the common perception of Orkney. It’s anything but grey. A bird lands on one of the many stabs, the wooden posts which create the barbed-wire fences which cover the landscape here. Westray is a land of few trees and a million stabs.
My first thought is that a Sparrowhawk has landed on the post, as I see spread, fingered wings open on landing. One look, though, and I realise it’s a Cuckoo. It’s a gorgeous mottled tawny brown with a distinctive white patch on the back of the head. It must be a juvenile. I’ve never seen a juvenile before.
It’s being harassed by Meadow Pipits, who have evolved to recognise Cuckoos as an existential threat to their family life and consequently give them a torrid time.
I’m on the beach below the sand dunes looking up at the fence. It’s a good position, because I’m largely hidden, but I want to get as close as possible while not disturbing them. I realise the Meadow Pipits are driving the Cuckoo along the fence so I run to the end of the fence, hunker down and hide myself and wait for the Meadow Pipits to drive the Cuckoo to me.
It works.
What a lovely bird, and a thrill to see. I wish it luck on its way to Africa.
More Cuckoos
How many notes in a call? Collared Doves make a three-note call. "Coo-COO-Coo". Woodpigeons make a lower pitched, more gravelly five-note call. "Coo-COO-Coo Coo-Coo" Neither of… read more
Cuckoo! We've off to see the Cuckoos, the wonderful Cuckoos of Dartmoor. We're not following the yellow-brick road, but we are… read more
Cuckoo and Meadow Pipit There's a never-ending battle going on in the meadows and on moorland of Dartmoor. It's Cuckoo versus Meadow Pipit. The… read more
I can’t believe I’m saying this I don't trust the Police. It seems strange to hear me think that, without even having to saying it out-loud;… read more
Return to Cuckooville Wild Cuckoos are truly wild birds. They don't tolerate human presence. I'm hidden in camouflage and bracken waiting for them… read more
Cuckoo! – how to take photos of Cuckoos There are still adult Cuckoos on Dartmoor. When they all leave for their migration to Africa there will still be… read more
2021 highlights of a wilder Devon life – part 2 Much of the nature I've enjoyed in Devon this year has been close to home. It's been a short walk… read more
Cuckoos and Meadow Pipits – an ancient battle I decide to get up at dawn and go to Dartmoor. I've decided that before and stayed in bed. This… read more