Cuckoos, swallows, swifts and other migrantory birds.

I heard a cuckoo for the first time this year last Friday, in All Stretton, Shropshire. No swallows, swifts or any other migrants though.

The tomato seeds in the greenhouse still haven’t germinated. They’ve been in over three weeks now.

Spring has not sprung in Carmarthenshire.

I don’t think they are migratory but our woodpecker is back, bashing it’s brains out against the trees behind out garden. If he does it when I am not on a conference call then I will try to get a photo.

Swallows in Lancashire last couple of days

Swallows and house Martins are back in Somerset also heard the first cuckoo on exmoor on Sunday.

On my way over to West Woods near Marlborough for the bluebells on Sunday I saw a bunch of fork-tailed birds swooping around, difficult to tell what they were, possibly house martins. Haven’t heard a cuckoo for decades.

Swallows in Fife today

Never saw a cuckoo til I went to Sutherland in may. Hundreds of them, even sat on the road and verges

Cuckoos and swallows appeared in the valley on same day a week last sunday. Since then have heard the cuckoo daily but not seen another swallow since. I am starting to worry for them. I usually have dozens of nests around the farm and they are one of my favorite birds (along with the pied wagtails). Not even seen a martin or a swift yet and we have hundreds of them as a rule.

Now you mention it, I’ve loads of bluebells and primroses in the garden, saxifrages too. It’s nice to see them. Despite the cold it’s been over a week since it last rained here. That follows weeks and weeks of rain. Thank goodness Wales is insoluble.

I may have heard the same cuckoo as @Ambrose last night in the woods at the south end of The Long Mynd – in Priors Holt forestry as it dropped towards dusk. First of this year, and first around my part of the world for several years if truth be told (I live maybe 35 miles away, so relatively local-ish).

There’s been a few swallows near home, and I heard a house martin a couple of days ago. It keeps dropping cold again though, think they bugger off southwards again when that happens to wait it out.

I don’t know their range but I was hauling up Plush Hill when I heard it. Priors Holt is about 7 km away. So that makes TWO cuckoos!

Shame on me, I have just noticed that I have spelled the thread title incorrectly. 😔

Swallows, sandpipers and cuckoos seen, Sleat, Skye at the start of the week.   Very late for my first spotting of a swallow but I have been inside most of the year so far.

Off down to Fife (Leven) Kormoran for a long weekend camping tomorrow so it’d be good to see some new returns. Planning to pop along to Kilminning NR and other bits of the coast too. Just got a scope for my birthday so was watching the local Ospreys last night. We’ve had Sand Martin’s back for a while. Not heard or seen a cuckoo.

I’m assuming the terms and puffins will be back now along the coast from us, but knackered knee has been stopping much mooching about.

We’ve had swallows locally, but not seen martins or swifts yet. No cuckoos near us  🙁

“our” swifts are due next week, if the last three years are anything to go by, but as the UK wind has all been coming from the north for the last week I’m assuming they’ll be later.

Had them sniffing around the swift boxes before they left last year so hoping they’ll nest this time.

Just ospreys in Angus so far, none of the others yet.  Must pop up the Sidlaws soon and see if the cuckoo has arrived on Auchterhouse hill yet; that’s usually around the 30th April.

Locally, I saw a Swallow two weeks ago but none since, Chiffchaffs a plenty and a Willow Warbler this week. No Cuckoos yet.
Up at the coast at half term and spotted a Wheatear and Ring Ouzel. Looking forward to seeing the Hobbies in a week or so.
It really doesn’t feel very springlike at the moment!

*Swallows in Lancashire last couple of days*

African or European?

Bloody foreign birds, coming over here and eating all our seeds!

STOP THE FLIGHTS!

African or European?

I only opened this thread to see if this joke had been made, I’m surprised it took so long.

I’d be surprised if the Pembroke swifts are here before mid May – they always seem late compared to some and the northerlies and cold air will be delaying them.

I’m hoping to get my new swift boxes up this weekend so they are in place in time without being empty and tempting to the house sparrows. We used to have swift nests under the eves but they’ve stopped for a couple of years – hoping to lure them in to some nice snug boxes.

Next step is to get an outside speaker ready to play swift calls in the evenings when they turn up.

I’d be surprised if the Pembroke swifts are here before mid May – they always seem late compared to some and the northerlies and cold air will be delaying them.

I’ve seen quite a few around Swansea and Gower so they are on the way.

Just ospreys in Angus so far

There were a couple of reliable sightings of an osprey in north Gower over the last few days, and weirdly my Merlin app picked one up north of Swansea a couple of Sundays ago. I didn’t see it ( I was in a heavily wooded valley so not many sightlines), and the app isn’t 100% reliable so I decided that it might be a mistake, but it definitely sounds like an osprey calling!

Ever so slightly OT but probably of interest to some on here:https://www.eaglereintroductionwales.com/  I went to an interesting talk about this last week.

First Cuckoo heard calling this morning and the recent arrival of Sedge Warblers were busy along the river bank. Feeling much more spring like today, hopefully get out for a ride this evening to check for the Hobbies.

Heard two cuckoos and saw a couple of swallows on the same walk a couple of weeks ago in Surrey. Was surprised to hear two cuckoos, they’re pretty rare

First hobby of the year today – what a fantastic bird

Saw my first swallow of the year in my local bird reserve (by the sea) last week. Made me smile

Not migratory but I spotted a treecreeper in my bins on the dog walk this morning, they’re not particularly rare but I rarely see them. Was a nice bonus

First swift day before yesterday (Northants). Should start to see some more now that we’ve lost the northerly wind.

Our swifts have just this minute arrived here in the South Downs. 2 so far, hopefully this is the pair that nest in our open eaves, can’t tell yet. Hopefully lots more to come, numbers were already down last year compared to previous.

Cuckoo’s and house martins arrived last week in Stowmarket.

Swallows are back on Gower.  Not heard a cuckoo tho

Saw first pair of swifts in Chichester yesterday amd heard a Cuckoo last weekend up near Lechlade (first one iv heard in years to be fair).

Had a sprinkle of swallows around Inverness a week ago but nothing more yet. Yesterday a cuckoo in the woods behind me

I’m surprised no swallows en masse but it’s been a grimy few weeks

I saw a hoopoe in my local park. Quite a striking bird with it’s head crest and long curved beak. It was pecking in the short grass of the path. They don’t breed here and are pretty rare apparently. Later further round the park I found a couple of bird watchers with a massive camera and they were not amused that I’d seen the hoopoe by chance as they’d been there for hours 🤣

I saw hoopoes once in Portugal. Never in the UK.

A nice chilled local ride gave us loads of skylarks today above Brynamman, they just don’t have a care about the kites.

Once at home I got a few planters ready, dug in loads of compost into a couple of beds and did a load of preparation around the garden. Bloody robins everywhere 😀👍🏼

Plenty of cuckoos round Glen Nevis over the weekend, plus a few swallows too. Tawny Owls were calling overnight.

There are swallows and house martins around Biddestone, and I walked up to West Kennet Long Barrow from Avebury this afternoon, and there were a bunch of swallows flying around there, because they nest in a cavity in one of the burial chambers as you go in. If you stand at the back of the chamber opposite, and keep quiet, they forget you’re there and start flying in and out.

Not a good photo, but tricky circumstances, the nest is tucked up in the top right corner.

Saw my first bat of the year last night. Still missing swallows and swifts.

Ride out past the fishing lakes onto the Manhood Peninsula last night and it seems the swifts have all turned up and were having a bug feast. Brilliant birds they are just screaming around the sky like absolute hooligans.

We were in the far NW Wales at the weekend.

Sand Martins very much in evidence and I heard Swifts from our balcony – this makes me very happy as I love sitting there in the evening as they go screaming past about 10 feet away….. So close I can hear their wing beats!

Swallows and sand martins beside the river in Fort William no swifts yet