I was in the bluebell woods in Arlington about 2pm and heard my first cuckoo the date is the 3rd of may. Its the first time i have heard a cuckoo for 20 years as i lived in surrey before moving here.I was so beautiful

mrs h, hailsham, east sussex

I heard my first Cuckoo this year on the 1st of May at about 8 a.m. just for afew minutes, then again on the 2nd a couple of times between 8 and 10 a.m. and again betweeen 5 and 6 pm
this morning about 7.30 it seemed to be in a derilict orchard a field away.

Robin Kenworthy, Staplehurst, Kent

"five days earlier than usual" does not say when was "usual". My family has kept a record for over 40 years of when the first cuckoo was heard each year at our house in the Medway Valley five miles East of Tonbridge, Kent. A moving 13-year average shows an average date of about 21st April up to 20 years ago, and it is now about 16th April - the five days earlier in the article. The actual date varies wildly from 2nd April to 29th April over a 40-year period.

The cuckoo is usually first heard close to a hop garden (still working!) and an old orchard about 100 yards to the south and the cuckoo seem to have come from the South East.

Of course we cannot be sure that we always hear the cuckoo the day that it arrives, but this is very likely as we listen for it about now.

Brian Cubbon, Tonbridge, UK