As I was waking up this morning, what I thought was a very familiar sound was filtering through to my half asleep brain.
"Cu Cooo, cu cooo"
It took some while before I realised it was a rather distant but very amorous dove :(
Oh well....not long now....??
false cuckoo
summer visitors have already started their migration. It takes them 4 - 6 weeks to arrive here.
I was in African around this time 2 years ago and saw 1000s of European/Barn Swallows on the move.
That must have been some sight!
I've been in Crete in April where there aren't the numbers you're talking of, but loads of really interesting birds passing through on their way to western and eastern europe. Red-footed falcons, doing just as it says in my book - sitting along telephone wires, Squacco herons, Little Stint, Black Tern, White-winged Black Tern and lots I can't remember and that's apart from the resident birds, lots of which we don't see here of course
yes it was the ones I saw were on their way to Southern Europe. Ours winter in the west around the bump LOL
When you say "ours" do you mean yours, or the whole of the UK?
UK, Ireland and Northern Europe
They must get very concentrated in Africa then! Particularly if they're all "in the west around the bump" :)
Must be really spectacular. Thought you were in S Africa??
I was.
LOL I've reread the post and realised I didn't pick up the 'subtle' difference between southern and northern europe *B*