2nd September 2009

This young cuckoo, currently being cared for at Safewings Bird Sanctuary, was picked up in Geddington, Northants, as it was unable to fly properly.

Director of the Sanctuary, Andy Meads told us "I initially advised the people who found the bird to watch for any foster parents feeding it, but after four hours and no sighting of any parents they brought it to us."

Andy added "There were no signs of any injury or deformity.  It appears that the bird is just a very late fledgling.  Obviously time is now of the essence as there are just days before the bird will need to fly south."

Cuckoo numbers have declined significantly since the mid 1990`s, and they are now on the UK Red Endangered species list.  This is partly due to host species, such as Meadow Pipit and Dunnock, also being in decline.

The future for this youngster is looking good.  It's now feeding itself well on live food, and begining to fly.  Safewings will continue monitoring it closely in readiness for its migration to Africa this month.

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Related Pages

• Safewings Bird Sanctuary
• UK Safari Cuckoo Fact File
• UK Safari Bird Section
• UK Safari News