18-05-2021 - Egg Leg Common Cuckoo
Sometimes when you are in the field you experience something that you may only see once in your life. Last year we had such a moment with mating Yellowhammers. This year we witnessed the egg laying of a Common Cuckoo.
A female Common Cuckoo (brown morph) keeps a close eye on the area because of the many nesting Eurasian Reed Warbler. Suddenly she flies up in the direction of the reeds. She flies right at us but through the reeds she gets out of the sight. She stays in the reeds for about 30 seconds before flying back to the same tree. Here we see that she has a Eurasian Reed Warbler egg in her beak. When the Common Cuckoo lays an egg she will always take an egg take of the nest. The Cuckoo then eats this egg. After the meal she is quietly brushing. She moves to another branch and flies away a few minutes later. While flying away we hear the specific egg laying call. The male present nearby receives the signal that there is work to be done again.
It is also a beautiful evening and we enjoy the presence of Bluethroats and Ducks and Spoonbills flying over.
