When I moved to the Highfield area of Wigan in 1988 there were Cuckoos in Winstanley Park. In fact in 1989 my first year as a BTO nest recorder I was lucky to find A Dunnocks nest that was "Cuckoo'd" and I followed the chicks progress through until it fledged.
I wish I'd kept a copy of that record card before submitting it.
The Cuckoos egg was similar to a House Sparrows in markings.
I only got one sighting of a bird though probably the same spring.
I've not heard one in the woods for about 20 years now though.
Bickershaw rucks is the best place in the entire wigan borough for cuckoos in my opinion, we think there is three cuckoo's on site this year. I have heard cuckoo in two other sites, one being pickley green Westleigh and the other wigan flashes. Also I regularly go running up rivington and across the moors and usually see and hear them over there.
I made my first trip to Bickershaw Rucks on Saturday 17th May 2014 in search of Cuckoos. I dropped lucky and was delighted to hear and see one flying South quite nera to me. It was the first in the Wigan area for me since I was a child 40-odd years ago. We heard them regularly in those days near Bottling Wood every Summer. I couldn't believe what a huge expanse of land this is and how it has been taken over by nature since the pit closed. Have they been heard or seen elsewhere around Wigan apart from around Pennington Flash? Tim Mason.
