Idemili was admitted late on the 12th July for emergency treatment after she was found by a kind member of the public in a garden in Tolworth. She was emaciated, weak and dying. She had been attacked by other birds, probably due to her illness, and she sustained wounds to one of her wings and a badly pecked balding head. She had a heavy parasitic load and this weakened her further. One of her eyes had closed due to a mixture of her dehydrated state, bruising from the other bird attack and underlying infection.

She received antibiotics, anti inflammatories, eye treatment and a vitamin boost as medication to help her recover. We also gave her fluids and force feeding well into the night on that first day, and all through the following day and are very proud, whilst remaining nervously hopeful, that she could be on the mend as she finally started to feed herself at 8pm on the 13th July.

She is certainly not out of the woods yet, but we are doing everything in our power to help her recover in time to migrate. Especially as she is the LAST Cuckoo to leave England, her fellow tracked Cuckoos have all moved to warmer climates in the mediterranean already. You can actually see her on this interactive map, residing at the hospital in Leatherhead! 

http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking/wales

The Common Cuckoo

The Common Cuckoo - Cuculus canorus – formerly European Cuckoo is a widespread summer migrant to Europe, Asia and winters in Africa. Breeds across Eurasia, in the non-breeding season it heads south it to sub-Saharan Africa.

Description

Adult males are slate-grey with barred underparts. The iris, orbital ring, the base of the bill and short legs and feet are yellow. Grey adult females have a pinkish-buff or buff background to the barring and neck sides. Rufous phase adult females have reddish-brown upperparts with dark grey or black bars. Common Cuckoos in their first autumn have variable plumage. Some are have strongly-barred chestnut-brown upperparts, while others are plain grey. Rufous-brown birds have heavily-barred upperparts with some feathers edged with creamy-white.

Call

The male's call, goo-ko, is usually given from an open perch. The female has a loud bubbling call.

Food

Diet consists of insects, especially hairy caterpillars.

Breeding

Common Cuckoos first breed at two years old. The Common Cuckoo is a brood parasite. It lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. At the appropriate moment, the hen cuckoo flies down to the host's nest, pushes one egg out, lays an egg and flies off. The whole process takes about 10 seconds. A female may visit up to 50 nests during a breeding season. The chick hatches after 11–13 days. It methodically evicts all host progeny from host nests. It is a much larger bird than its hosts, and needs to monopolise the food supplied by the parents. The chick will roll the other eggs out of the nest by pushing them with its back over the edge.

Conservation Status – Least concern

Not threatened, in fact it is widespread and common in Southern Africa. In the UK a marked decline in numbers.

Birdwatching

Cuckoos can be seen throughout the UK, but are especially numerous in southern and central England. Adults arrive in late March or April and depart in July or August, with young birds leaving a month or so later.

Ask Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures to create a custom tour for you or book on one of the following scheduled Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -

Aves Eastern Cape Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.

Aves Highlands / Tembe Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves KZN Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North East Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North West Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.