As I walked through a late-opening garden centre this evening I distinctly heard the call of a cuckoo from the middle distance. That's the first I've heard this year, and may be the only one too as they seem to be extremely rare. I'm not aware of ever having seen one – and I only hear them on occasion. The chances of ever having a photo to illustrate this story seem rather small therefore.

I get the impression from a quick Googling that this is about the time of year when you'd expect to hear them for the first time – late April into early May.