Durham Bird Club at 50

The county avifauna, The Birds of Durham (Bowey and Newsome, 2012) records that “A public meeting in late 1974 at Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery to discuss bird watching and recording was well-attended. This was followed on 8 January 1975 by another meeting and enrolment for membership of the Durham Bird Club began shortly afterwards.”

We shall be organising various projects and events during the year to commemorate this special anniversary. These include a "Bird of the Week" feature, appearing below.

Bird of the Week - Week 22

Cuckoo – A Classic Sound with an Unusual Strategy

(Photo by Mark Harper)

Few bird calls are as instantly recognisable as the Cuckoo’s. That clear, two-note phrase drifting across the moors and wooded edges is a sound that has echoed through British folklore - and still marks the turning of the season in County Durham.

Most Cuckoos in the UK return from Central Africa in April, but by late May and early June, they’re often easier to hear than to see. Their secretive nature and resemblance to a Sparrowhawk - long tail, grey body, quick flight - make them surprisingly elusive.

Cuckoos don’t raise their own young. Instead, the female lays her egg in another bird’s nest, often timed to match the host’s laying. The chick hatches early, pushes out the other eggs or chicks, and secures the full attention of its adopted parents. It’s an ancient, specialised strategy - and still the focus of ongoing research.

Cuckoo numbers have declined across the UK and they’re now on the UK Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern. Here in County Durham, they remain a regular, albeit less common, feature of upland and moorland-edge habitats in the West of the County during late spring and early Summer.

Have you heard or seen a Cuckoo this spring? Or even spotted a host species feeding a much-too-large chick? Let us know what you’ve seen.

More information on Cuckoos

E-mail: admin@durhambirdclub.org.uk

Social media tags: #DBC #DBCat50 #DurhamBirdClub #BirdOfTheWeek

#Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK #CountyDurhamBirds #Cuckoo