Belted Galloways and calves His yelling startled me. The Belted Galloways took to their hooves and their calves went frisking after them. The farmer had brought them feed, or water. Both needful as the grass isn't growing for lack of rain. There was a shower overnight, scarcely enough to dampen the ground. The farmer's gathering his cattle put up the lapwing I've heard calling. Now they flew calling over trees and pastures. A young father with a little girl on his shoulders stopped to show her the Belted Galloways.
A redstart sang in the trees by Bradleyfield Farm. Skylark were in song flight and I came upon another family of stonechat. It was a glorious morning and as I looked for the cuckoo I heard calling I took in the distant fells.
All morning, I followed the call of the cuckoo and found him several times. He was active within a traditional territory, the undulating zone of ground where I've most often found him. He perched in the top of a mature ash, on the branch of a fallen dead tree, on juniper up on ridge where he'd be visible. I want to find out if his working a relatively small area over almost a week suggests success- that he has found females. Last spring he ranged further over Scout Scar. He's rarely worked such a confined zone over a week, as he is doing at the moment. I've never come home with such an odd image as I found amongst this morning's file. Take a look and see how you interpret what you see. I give you a sequence of four shots, taken with minimal time between them
I was some distance away when I found the cuckoo. The first shot shows his habitat and the cuckoo on his display perch from which he's calling. In the next image, he suddenly takes flight. I saw classic cuckoo flight- in the photograph you would scarcely know what you're looking at. What's interesting is the other three birds in the shot, caught in the moment they fly after him. I've often seen meadow pipit perching close to a cuckoo to let him know they're aware he's a threat. The female cuckoo is the immediate threat since she invades their nest and introduces her own egg.
Click on images to see fully
All morning, I followed the call of the cuckoo and found him several times. He was active within a traditional territory, the undulating zone of ground where I've most often found him. He perched in the top of a mature ash, on the branch of a fallen dead tree, on juniper up on ridge where he'd be visible. I want to find out if his working a relatively small area over almost a week suggests success- that he has found females. Last spring he ranged further over Scout Scar. He's rarely worked such a confined zone over a week, as he is doing at the moment. I've never come home with such an odd image as I found amongst this morning's file. Take a look and see how you interpret what you see. I give you a sequence of four shots, taken with minimal time between them
I was some distance away when I found the cuckoo. The first shot shows his habitat and the cuckoo on his display perch from which he's calling. In the next image, he suddenly takes flight. I saw classic cuckoo flight- in the photograph you would scarcely know what you're looking at. What's interesting is the other three birds in the shot, caught in the moment they fly after him. I've often seen meadow pipit perching close to a cuckoo to let him know they're aware he's a threat. The female cuckoo is the immediate threat since she invades their nest and introduces her own egg.
Click on images to see fully
I witness the same behaviour later that morning. I find a cuckoo perched on a dead tree and just below him there's a meadow pipit keeping watch.
RSS Feed