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BTO tagged Cuckoos; The Journey Begins Again
Topic Started: Feb 7 2013, 07:02 PM (8,034 Views)
Davebutterflyman
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On Birdguides yesterday i counted well over a dozen sightings of Cuckoo, all non-tagged.
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Night Owl
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Just had a look at the map and Selborne is back in the UK :cool: it doesn't look like PJ has moved at all :)
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Laurie P
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Great news Julie - he's made it back - what a hero :yay:

Looking closely at the BTO Tracking map it looks like he's back in the Beaulieu area of the New Forest again.

His original breeding ground was in Hawkhill Inclosure but it looks like he's doing quite a bit of erratic flying all around that area at the moment, going a bit further northeast this time into Pig Bush Inclosure, and hasn't settled in any particular location yet.

The earliest I will be able to get out to that area to have a good look/listen will be next Tuesday, so that's on the top of my list now.
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JennyWren
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That is great news Jan and Julie , thank you :Cool:
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celticsparrow-Jan
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Well done Selborne,good to hear he has made it back :thanks: Julie.

Good luck with the Cuckoo spotting trip Laurie.
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AnnB
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Thank you for the update, Julie. Well done Selborne.
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Davebutterflyman
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That's great news Julie.
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Night Owl
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Good luck Laurie, we're looking forward to seeing your photos of him ;)
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Davebutterflyman
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Yes indeed, very best of luck Laurie.
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Laurie P
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No luck yet :sad:

It's a pity the BTO Tagging map isn't updated more frequently, to get a better idea where he might be.

The latest check was yesterday, which showed him just north of Pig Bush Inclosure, Beaulieu. The location showed him in the heathland area of Furzy Brow.

As I would be coming into Beaulieu from Brockenhurst, I would be passing Hawkhill Inclosure first, so this was my first stop at 9am this morning. I had a wander around here for a while but heard or saw nothing. Actually, it wasn't very good weather conditions for listening out for bird calls. It was quite windy, so the noise of the wind rustling through the trees made it difficult to hear much - especially if he was there but a distance away.

Anyway, I then continued through Beaulieu and headed to the last location for him as per the BTO map. Again I didn't hear or see anything of him. I headed back through Beaulieu and decided to stop at Rans Wood, which is opposite Hatchet Pond next to the B3055 road. It is also the mid point between Pig Bush Inclosure and Hawkhill Inclosure, so if Selborne is flying between these two locations I may hear him here.

Unfortunately, no luck here either.

This is still quite a large area of ground to cover to track him down, so it's a shame the Tagging map isn't showing real-time locations.

Unless the map shows him in another location more frequently, then I'll concentrate my future visits to Hawkhill Inclosure - his previous year's breeding ground.
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JennyWren
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:think: are our Cuckoos really African cuckoos as they spend most of the year over there .

Do they mate for life ? ............ and have any females been spotted in the New Forest ?
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Laurie P
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All good questions Jen, to which I know not the answers :shrug:

Maybe the bird experts on the Forum can answer that :paul:
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celticsparrow-Jan
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Not sure Jen but as Laurie someone will know the answers.

Maybe better luck next time Laurie,it would have been nice if you could have at least heard him.
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JennyWren
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:Cool: Laurie and Jan ........... i know the female has a different call from the male , so it maybe that one or two are around now ...... i hope so for the male's sake :thinking:

Laurie , it won't be long :clap4:
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Davebutterflyman
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Keep trying Laurie, i know your persistence will pay off.

I'm not sure Jen, will get back to you.
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Laurie P
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I spent 2 hours walking around Hawkhill Inclosure, Brockenhurst this morning.

The weather conditions were excellent today. Sunny and blue skies, and no wind, so I was able to keep stopping and listening without the rustle of leaves to act as a hindrance.

However, not a peep from him again, so I can only assume he's not come into this particular area of the Forest yet.
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Dovetail-Marg
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Keep listening Laurie, if he is in those parts, you'll hear him and then hopefully see him, or another one. :)

I've been very lucky with both hearing and seeing Cuckoos over the last 4/5 years at my local reserve, but none of them have been tagged.

I've always found it much easier to both hear and see Cuckoos when it gets into May, and then June, by then they have a territory set up, and they fly in a very large circle ( a couple of miles at least) and it's a case of once you've heard one, to listen and wait for it to come back to where you heard it the first time, this was advice from a very knowledgeable birding friend who told me not to chase it, but just be patient, and so far it's worked every time.
There's a group of very tall old willow trees at Coombe Hill, that they seem to come back to them every year, and one year I was very lucky and saw both male and female Cuckoo together in the same tree.

Sometimes I've only had to wait for 10/20 minutes, but there have been times when it was about an hour...... bird watching certainly makes you become a very patient person. :lol:

:fingerscrossed: that you see it Laurie. :)
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AnnB
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Great advice Marg, thank you. I've yet to get a decent photo of a Cuckoo so I'll remember your tips.

It's good to be out in this lovely weather anyway, Laurie and hopefully you'll find Selborne or one of his friends soon.
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JennyWren
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:Cool: thanks for that advice Marg , i'll know what to do if i ever hear a cuckoo and then it disappears ., wait a while and it'll return :thanks:
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Davebutterflyman
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I agree with Marg and a very good point raised. Cuckoos will often return to the same tree to call from and it could be a territorial thing.
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