Cuckoo & Jay

Lade - 1030hrs - warm, dry, hazy sunshine, nw 2 - A much warmer day than yesterday and around noon it actually felt quite hot. In the garden MV last night, Bright-line Brown-eye was new for the year.

                                   Bright-line Brown-eye, Lade

We checked the gravel pits first where all the usual gulls, waders and wildfowl were present. Mockmill Sewer was alive with Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler song, plus Stonechat, Linnets and Reed Buntings. Behind the `mirrors` had good views of a perched Cuckoo before it flew off to sing. Whilst Cuckoos are declining up country they continue to prosper here with plenty of moth caterpillars to feed on and Reed Warblers as host species for their eggs. Oddest of all though was a Jay flying over south lake, a bird I normally only see in late autumn.

                                Cuckoo, Lade