Two new things

Yesterday morning, at 04.18, I was woken by the call of a cuckoo!!!!!!  This has never happened to me before, in my own home!  I was so astounded that I lay there with my mouth open in amazement and astonishment.  What excitement!  The call of the cuckoo is so evocative of springtime, so particular, and, sadly, increasingly rare.  When we were in Australia three years ago, my daughter told me she had heard the cuckoo here, in the wood, and I was slightly sceptical.  A misfiring pigeon can sometimes fool you into thinking you have heard half a cuck, without the ..oo. Last May there was no cuckoo.  And early this morning, from 4 am onwards there was no cuckoo - I was on alert - so maybe this one was just passing through.  But I am so happy that it did!  It made my day because I haven't heard one this year, and the sound always reminds me of my mother (for all the right reasons) and my childhood.

Another new bit of wildlife, and a new bug to me, was this little beauty, which I spied on the terrace this morning.   

It's colours are so amazing that although it is only 1 cm long, you couldn't very well miss it!  I can't identify it, so have emailed this photo to British Bugs, in the hope they can enlighten me!

PS : I've heard back from British Bugs who tell me that this little beastie is a jewel wasp.  Well named!