SHAFTESBURY is set to celebrate the arrival of the 6 million or so migratory birds as they return to Great Britain – with the town’s first Cuckoo Day.

The birds start arriving from Africa from mid-March to the end of May, having negotiated such enormous obstacles as the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, April 24 the Shaftesbury Nature Collective is hoping to raise the profile of the cuckoo in particular, an important harbinger of spring with his iconic call.

“We need to conserve the wild places on our doorstep, such as woodlands and reedbeds for this and many resident species,” a spokesperson said.

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As part of this, the two events are taking place later this month.

Cuckoo Calls and Choirs at Park Walk

Starting at 11am, Karen Wimhurst and other clarinetists will be offering cuckoo calls, while choirs will proceed from the town hall to Park Walk singing cuckoo songs.

An Evening with Mike McCarthy at The Grosvenor Hotel

Mike McCarthy, ex-environment editor of The Independent and author of Say Goodbye to the Cuckoo and The Moth Snowstorm, will give a talk about the wonders of bird migration, highlighting the cuckoo and the swift at The Grosvenor Hotel, 7pm.

Tickets are free but should be booked from Folde Bookshop on Gold Hill.