Last call for Dartmoor cuckoos

Dartmoor National Park is a stronghold for the cuckoo which has suffered a huge decline in the UK in recent years. Earlier in the year we asked you to help us by letting us know when and where you have heard a cuckoo on Dartmoor. This is so we can build up a better picture of their movements and perhaps begin to understand what is causing this national decline.

So far this year we have gathered over 1,000 records on Dartmoor alone, with nearly 200 more for the rest of Devon.  However, this amazing number of records doesn’t mean that there are over 1,000 cuckoos in Dartmoor National Park, as some birds will have been recorded several times, but it does help us build a pattern of their distribution.

But, now is another important time to tell us if you have heard or seen a cuckoo, as they are already starting to leave Britain for their wintering grounds in Africa. Receiving dates for when the last cuckoos were seen is just as important as those dates of when they were first seen, as it starts telling us the story of how their behaviour might be changing in response to factors such as climate change or breeding success. So please help us continue this work by submitting all your sightings, even if you’ve reported a cuckoo from that location before; it is all very useful data.

You can submit your sightings online by going to http://www.devonbirds.org/birdwatching/recording/cuckoos, or by informing a member of staff at a Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre.

For more information on cuckoos, visit www.dartmoor.gov.uk/cuckoo