Another of my ‘favourite things’, is hearing the cuckoo each spring. I heard him a few weeks ago (I say ‘him’ as it’s only the males that make the ‘cuck-oo’ sound. Female cuckoos make a more ‘bubbling’ sound), and then read that a tracked cuckoo, called Ashok (available to sponsor), recently returned to the UK after his winter migration, and then chose to leave again just 36 hours later.

He had flown back all the way from Africa, landed in Suffolk and then just decided to turn around and go back to France. If only we could ask him why.

Renowned for marking spring, the cuckoo flies all the way back from Africa each spring to spend the summer in the UK and to breed. They are famous for laying their eggs in other birds’ nests, fooling them into raising their young.

Over a season, the female cuckoo will lay between 12 and 22 eggs, and all in different nests, though interestingly, they tend to opt for the nests of the very same species that reared them.

It’s all incredibly clever, as once the female finds a suitable nest, she actually removes one of the unwitting host’s eggs, (can birds count, I wonder?) and lays hers in its place. And all within 10 seconds, to avoid being detected. Cuckoo eggs hatch quickly – after just 12 days – and once hatched, the baby cuckoo’s cry sounds just like an entire clutch of hungry baby birds, overriding any parental suspicion. They soon take over the nest, developing quicker than their host’s offspring, and therefore taking all the food brought by the host bird.

By the time the fledgling cuckoo leaves the nest, it is far bigger than even it’s ‘step parents’, but the adoptive parents continue to feed the young cuckoo for a further two weeks. With their young being raised by another bird, adult cuckoos are free to leave the UK much earlier, often heading back to Africa in June, where they spend winter. The young cuckoos will fledge long after their parents have left.

A lot of people will know the scant details of this process, but when you really think about it in any depth, it really is quite incredible. But there’s more:

Our cuckoos winter in the forests of the Congo after their epic journey, crossing the Sahara in one 50-60 hour continuous flight. Curiously, it has been revealed by tracking, that they take just one of two routes to reach their destination. One is southeast through Italy, where food reserves seem to be good, and the other is southwest through Spain.

Sadly, but unsurprisingly, cuckoo populations in the UK have declined sharply in recent decades, making tracking their movements increasingly important.

The BTO is a registered Charity, which, amongst many other things, track the cuckoo’s and offer the opportunity for you to get involved too. Not only can you help track cuckoos and watch their epic migration on their Cuckoo Migration Map - and read the latest updates on how the cuckoos are managing their amazing migration from Britain and Ireland to Africa and back again - but you can actually sponsor a cuckoo as well.

Simply set up a Direct Debit for your chosen cuckoo, and your chosen amount. As a sponsor, you'll get regular updates about your chosen cuckoo and where they are in the world, and your support will fund the ongoing research into these fascinating and iconic birds. I think it’s just brilliant, and a fabulous gift for yourself, or an original gift for someone else and of course, also a beneficial gift for the cuckoo population. Details at: www.bto.org/get-involved/volunteer/projects/cuckoo-tracking