Cuckoo

The weather this week is going to be very varied, or so the weather forecasters predict. 
Predominantly cold, with some rain, or sleet, or sun, or wind or maybe all of the above. 
So it was a bit of a surprise this morning that I heard the cuckoo!
The swallows are here as are the house martins and the cuckoo is indeed another one of natures joys that make us believe that summer is on its way.

This is NOT a photo I took, seeing a cuckoo and taking a picture is a pretty hard thing to do.




Cuckoos are interesting as they arrive here for the summer breeding season. To find a mate they make the iconic 'cuckoo' sound. Then the females lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and that is their parenting done. 
When it hatches the cuckoo chick will heave any other eggs out of the surrogate parents nest and then demand food from both its adopted parents until it is fully fledged, when it will head off to warmer climes with no adult to show it the way!!!