A young cuckoo being fed by a pied wagtail.
Photograph: Alastair Forsyth.
One of the species that people seem to require no encouragement to report is the cuckoo.
Few people are unfamiliar with its call and it is a sure sign that spring has arrived and summer is on its way. The first cuckoos are usually heard in mid-April. This year on Arran it was the 16 April. The earliest record on the island was 8 April in 2017. Peak migration takes place in late April/early May and throughout this time and into June and early July, reports come in of calling males. Unlike other parts of the UK where it is in serious decline, the cuckoo population on Arran seems to be thriving.