A Cuckoo was singing around the Plumstone heath today and possibly newly arrived as it was half-hearted in the morning but got going later. This is the earliest I have seen one here and likely to be a returning bird as it seemed to do the same circuit and perch on the same bushes as sightings in previous years.
There were nine female Wheatear in the recently seeded grassy hill west of the rock plus an intriguing tenth striking white-capped bird with a white collar, but otherwise looking like a female. I think it was probably just a leucistic female rather than an exotic cousin.
A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling near Causeway Plantation at the same location where I managed to get a decent picture a couple of years ago, but today it stayed in deep cover. There was no sign of Yellowhammers in the former favoured areas, nor any Spotted Flycatchers yet in the plantation, but it was good to see a pair of Crossbills on top of the conifers by Celtic Timber when I arrived.