REPTILES, particularly those on the heaths of the district have been out in abundance and more green tiger beetles have been witnessed in recent weeks than in the last few years combined.

While carrying out some monitoring work on the acid grasslands of Habberley Valley I heard something which traditionally typifies the arrival of spring. Many people have their own idea of what typifies spring to them, the flowering of the bluebells or the first butterfly, but most would agree that the call of the cuckoo is a sure sign. I’m no expert when it comes to birds, especially when it comes to identifying them from their calls, but that of the cuckoo is so distinctive even a novice would find it difficult to confuse it with anything else. The cuckoo is a surprisingly large bird, around the same size as a dove, and while not the most beautiful of birds, their colouration is fairly striking, with the dark, slate grey upper, and white chest broken-up with dark barring. It is their interesting lifestyle that draws them to people’s attention.

They are migratory birds, arriving in the UK in late March to April, this coincides with the nesting habits of many of our other bird species, in particular the meadow pipits, dunnocks and reed warblers. As many people are aware, cuckoos are in fact often called parasites. By coinciding their arrival to the UK with the nesting and breeding time of UK birds, the cuckoo has the perfect opportunity to take advantage and deposit an egg into the host’s nest.

Once hatched the chick will quickly push any other egg or chick from the nest, to reduce competition. Now, the cuckoo is a much larger bird than the birds it chooses to parasitise and the cuckoo chick, after a short period, often dwarfs its foster parents, its demand for food is enormous, and the task of keeping the ever-growing chick fed is a fantastic strain on the host. You would think that perhaps the foster parent would notice the unusually large youngster, but their maternal behaviour is so strong that they continue to care for the cuckoo chick until ready to leave.

In some areas, cuckoos parasitise up to a massive 10 per cent of reed warbler nests. There have been many studies carried out regarding this behaviour, and it has even been reported that cuckoos carry out ‘mafia’ style attacks upon their hosts.

For example, if the host chooses not to care for the cuckoo chick, the cuckoo parents will attack and kill any chicks, or break any remaining eggs. Then when the host starts over again, and lays a new batch of eggs, the cuckoo will be ready to jump in and lay its egg at the first opportunity. It has also been observed that a cuckoo chick not only mimics a host chick’s call, but actually mimics the noise of an entire brood’s hunger call, thus encouraging the foster parents’ maternal instincts.

The cuckoo’s visit to the UK is brief as it leaves in July or August, with the young following soon after. It is a fascinating creature and one that truly demonstrates the diversity of our natural environment.