Cuckoo

The Cuckoo’s call is an iconic sound of spring, but sadly one that is heard less with each passing year. It is one of the birds on the British Trust for Ornithology’s ‘Red List’, meaning that their numbers are falling dramatically.

Cuckoos make an astonishing journey each year, flying to Africa for the winter and returning to the UK each spring. The females find another bird’s nest (often a reed warbler or dunnock), remove one of the existing eggs and lay one of their own, mimicking the original. She then leaves the ‘host species’ to bring up her chick – which also removes any other eggs from the nest soon after it hatches to ensure the deception is successful.

Listen out for them this month, as some can begin making their long journeys back as soon as the beginning of June!

Cuckoo spit

While cuckoo spit appears around the time the cuckoo’s call is heard, it has nothing to do with the bird!

This sticky foam is actually made by tiny insects called froghoppers as a nest: eggs are laid inside where they develop in safety, and nymphs emerge later.

The adult froghopper is a champion jumper and is able to leap 70cm into the air - a greater feat than the flea and similar to a human jumping over a tower block! You can find cuckoo spit and froghoppers in gardens, meadows and fields.

Cuckooflower

The last of our cuckoo trilogy, this delicate flower is also unrelated to bird, though in common with the appearance of cuckoo spit, it generally blooms when cuckoos start to call.

Cuckooflowers, also known as ‘lady’s smock’, grow in damp meadows and woodland rides, such as Chimney Meadows near Bampton and Finemere Wood near Aylesbury. They are one of the food plants for caterpillars of the orange-tip butterfly, if you look closely you may spot their eggs embedded in the stem, looking like very small orange rugby balls!

Nightingale

While Nightingales don’t have ‘cuckoo’ in the name, they do share a number of similarities. They are birds with an iconic song, which travel here from Africa to breed in the spring. Sadly, they are also on the BTO Red List as numbers have been declining in recent years – particularly due to the loss of scrub in which they nest.

They tend to skulk in thick scrub and thickets, so you are much more likely to hear their melodic song than see one. If you're near to our Greenham Common and Hosehill Lake nature reserves in Berkshire, listen out for them.

Green-winged orchids

Green-winged orchids bloom in their thousands at Bernwood Meadows near Oxford, getting their name from the green veins in the 'hoods' of their flowers. They come in various shades of purple and pink, and occasionally pure white. 

They used to be widespread in hay meadows and pastures like these, but sadly numbers have declined as pastures are ploughed up. The sight of thousands flowering in the ancient ridge and furrow fields at Bernwood Meadows, and the nearby Asham Meads, is increasingly precious as nature reserves become the last safe havens for these orchids.

Green hairstreak

The green hairstreak butterfly actually does have green wings. Though they only appear green when closed, because it is the undersides that are so strikingly-coloured – helping it blend into foliage when at rest. This means they can be very difficult to spot! But if you fancy your luck, Dancersend near Aylesbury, Warburg Nature Reserve in the Chiltern Hills, and Ardley Wood Quarry to the north-west of Bicester are among the best bets.

Beautiful demoiselle

It’s difficult to stay humble when you have ‘beautiful’ in your name, but these stunning damselflies certainly earn the title. 

They live on small, fast flowing rivers and streams, and the male demoiselles rest on bankside vegetation awaiting passing females. They then use their fluttering flight as a courtship display – you may see them flitting and fluttering overhead as the male tries to impress with its dance moves!

Pond skater

Along slower water, you’re likely to come across groups of pond skaters. A common sight at ponds, lakes, ditches and slow-moving rivers, they have water-repellent hairs on the bottom of their feet, enabling them to walk on the surface film of the water. They hunt by detecting vibrations in this film, feeding on smaller insects which they stab with their sharp mouthparts or 'beaks'.

Newts

While frogs and toads have mostly finished mating by now, and ponds are starting to blossom with black clouds of their tadpoles, newts will continue breeding into May. Our Kintbury Newt Ponds in West Berkshire is a fantastic place to spot newts, boasting all three British species - smooth, palmate and great crested. 

Female newts lay their eggs at night, by folding submerged leaves in half to make little pockets each to protect an individual egg. See if you can spot these curious half-leaves in ponds this month.

Common lizard

Back on land, common lizards are making the most of the spring season, basking in the sunshine to warm up before they go hunting for worms and other invertebrates.

Have you ever seen a lizard in the UK? We have a lot of them! They can be found on many of our reserves including Snelsmore Common near Newbury and Sydlings Copse near Oxford. After emerging from hibernation, they mate in April and May, producing between three and eleven young which you can look out for later in the summer!

How to help wildlife in May