I woke up this morning to the reassuring sound of the cuckoo calling a couple of fields away from the secret campsite.
Sussex is the first county in england that the cuckoos reach as they cross the channel and often fly up the rivers en route to their summer breeding grounds
The Cuckoo cuculus canorus is a cheat. Rather than bring up its own young, this interloper opts for the lazy route and gets other birds, often the Meadow pipit to hatch and rear its chicks.
All this aside, numbers of cuckoos have plummeted in recent years so hearing their, increasingly rare, call is an uplifting sound. You can enjoy this mysterious and unique call for the next few weeks as our residents announce their presence to passing birds.
Make the most of it while you still can