For the first time in three years----

I never hear them at home
but was on holiday last year in May on the small island of Colonsay in the Hebrides where we heard Cuckoos constantly.
Thanks for reminding me. It was a joyful sound.

We went for a walk in our local bluebell wood 2 weeks ago. (Crackly Woods - isn't that a lovely name for a wood ...?) We heard a cuckoo. Also heard a woodpecker, although, try as we might, we couldn't spot him. We're so lucky to have all these wonderful things around us - and the woods were absolutely beautiful - a sea of blue. And, oh, the smell ...

Oh such lovely little ditties about cuckoos.

Cuckoo is cuckooing a lot here. It's lovely to listen to it.

The cuckoo comes in April
It sings its song in May
It changes its tune in the middle of June and then it flies away.

I totally understand your joy chicken.
We regularly used to hear kookaburras (I'm in Australia) as part of our daily experiences. Just recently I heard one after several years. I was so excited. They are still not as regular as they once were but at least I know they are still here.

https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/201905/medium-139974-cuckoo.jpg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/201905/medium-404188-shining-cuckoo.jpg%3C/span%3E

Yes, CrazyH I miss that too. And church bells.

The cuckoo is a pretty bird
She singeth as she flies
She bringeth us good tidings
She telleth us no lies
She sucketh at white flowers
To make her throstle clear
And when we hear her singing
'Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
The summer draweth near.

There are more verses - I used to sing this at school.

New Zealand has a Shining Cuckoo with the same parasitic habit but its call is more of an elongated peeping.

nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/shining-cuckoo#bird-sounds

I hear them with mixed feelings...

Oh I wish I could hear a cuckoo ?

I heard a cuckoo early last week,i live 4 miles from a city.

Have heard one here (Essex) for the past 3 weeks or so and last year was fortunate enough to have one fly right past me quite lowish across the field I was walking the dog through, cuckooing (if that’s a word!) as it went. Had a lovely view of it. Whether it is the same one returning each year or not, I don’t know but have heard one there for a few years now and always heave a sigh of relief and pleasure when I hear it once more each spring.

Have heard one in this area for the past week. Perhaps it's been a bit chilly?

I always used to hear one when biking to and from work. It got so persistent I couldn't stand it in the end!

In this part of the village you can't hear it so much but I did hear one yesterday. Possibly getting desperate for a mate and going further afield?

I haven't heard one since I left Cheltenham in the early 2000s. There was one arrived every year down the lane north of the village.
Since then I lived in Worcester for some years, then retired to Somerset. And I don't think you get cuckoos by the sea.

How lovely- but very late surely. Ours arrives around 21st April without fail every year. I love to hear her but I do feel sorry for the bird who has to raise her chick.