Decline of the cuckoo

Last updated at 09:30, Thursday, 10 May 2012

FIRST it’s the swallows we look for to tell us that summer is in sight. Once they’ve arrived, our thoughts turn to another iconic herald of summer, the cuckoo, which William Wordsworth greeted with the phrase “O blithe new-comer”.

Last week its instantly-recognisable call was heard coming from the Wauchope direction. The day after I was told one was here, I heard on TV that one from Africa had returned to the Norfolk Broads.