Memories- The Moorland Hunt Part 2

It had been a week since my first try at finding a cuckoo but that one was in vain.

This time, I was back on Dartmoor, headed for Emsworthy Mire. We parked the car and started the hike. To get to the mire, we had to go down a slope. As we walked down, we didn’t see anything. In the end, we got to the entrance to the reserve and there were 2 carrion crows flying above us.

We carried on down after opening the gate. The conditions were blue and sunny and there was a warm breeze blowing. There was a swallow up in the sky and while I was watching him, I heard a cuckoo call. This was the first time I had heard one and it was shocking. It carried on calling and it became quite a comfortable and calming experience.

I carried on down to the mire and stopped by the pond. I sat on a large rock to have a rest then suddenly, a bird flew into a nearby tree. I quickly lifted up my binoculars and there, a meadow pipit sat. He stayed there briefly before fluttering away.

I decided to head back up. I carried on up through the mire and when I got to the wall, I clambered over. Then, I heard the cuckoo again. He was very close.

I headed towards where the call was coming from, constantly monitoring with my binoculars as I went… then, I saw one. It was very brief because as soon as he saw me, he jumped onto the ground. That was the last I saw of him. I was so happy about this as this was my first ever cuckoo.

I carried on back towards the car park. I didn’t see anything as I went back up towards the car. When I reached the car park, I clambered in and drove off.