I don’t want this blog to become stuck on my attempts to take a decent photograph of a cuckoo, but I thought the above was worth including as part of my gradual progress towards success. Calling cuckoos is actually surprisingly simple, and the fact that these birds can be so easily tricked is maybe linked Continue reading

The last few days have brought more and more cuckoos to the Chayne. I heard five different birds calling yesterday when I walked my circuit of traps, and I was even able to call one out of the thick cover by blowing into my hands and imitating the familiar call. He landed a hundred yards Continue reading

It seems relevant to mention that I heard my first cuckoo of the year yesterday, then heard two calling on the darkening this evening. Cuckoos are known for being shady and elusive characters, and before I began this project, I could count the number of times that I had seen one on the fingers of Continue reading

What with various amphibians, mammals and birds feeling the spirit of spring coursing through their veins, I have recently been placed in uncomfortably voyeuristic positions before mating frogs, black grouse and woodpigeons. Only the frogs have been featured on this blog in photographic form because I wanted to avoid building the unsettling reputation as the Continue reading

Although April is when black grouse lekking behaviour will reach a peak, the month is stolen by one of Britain’s best loved and beautiful waders. Driving up through the Borders yesterday to visit a friend with vast numbers of black grouse, I stopped by the roadside on a stunning day to see what I could Continue reading

Having seen my first swallow of the year at 11:07am this morning, I am now satisfied that spring has well and truly sprung. Last year, I saw the first swallow on the 10th of April, and the year before it was the 14th. It’s amazing how those tiny birds can time their arrival so reliably Continue reading

Thanks to some fantastic weather recently, the ground has really warmed up and plant growth is heading into overdrive. Many of the more sheltered rowans have cracked their buds, and willows seem to get fluffier by the day. In amongst the undergrowth, some fascinating little beasts are waking up after spending the winter underground, and Continue reading

  Swallows don’t arrive on the Chayne until the end of April, so the best indicator we have of spring is the arrival of wheatears. These pretty little rude boys arrive at the end of March after a long journey from East Africa, and they stay until early in September. I saw the first one Continue reading

Bit by bit, the moor has come to life again. Cotton grass flowers are out, skylarks are larking and meadow pipits are parachuting out of the sky like shuttlecocks. It is a great time of year for the Chayne, made all the more special by the recent arrival of curlews. At the beginning of March Continue reading

Although I should have marked a formal date for the start of my bird survey in March last year, I think that seeing the 56th bird species on the Chayne this morning marks a full year. Winding down the window in the partial darkness shortly before seven o’clock this morning, I saw a crossbill drinking Continue reading