Linda heard a cuckoo at 4:30 am in Small Dole, near Henfield in West Sussex.

Michele Fox heard the first cuckoo of the season at Gainsborough Park, St Austell in Cornwall.

J White heard a cuckoo at Wrescombe Farm, South Hams in Devon.

Gemma Crake spotted a cuckoo in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire.

She said “Whilst walking along the Great River Ouse yesterday my dad and I first heard then saw a cuckoo. As we walked along we spotted it in a tree (photo is a bit grainy due to distance and lighting) as we walked along the cuckoo flew along the river ahead of us. We last heard it coming from some trees (what3words: ///learn.talent.cheetahs).”

It’s a great picture – thank you for sharing, Gemma.

Tim Kinch saw a cuckoo on the western flank of Penycloddiau on the Clwydian Range in Wales, and took a fabulous photo of it too.

John Randall saw a cuckoo this morning in Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire.

He said, “This morning at 0800hrs I saw a cuckoo but it made no call . It flew in and perched in one of my 5 old apple trees, looked around for about 20 seconds then flew about 8 meters to another apple tree where it remained for about 30 seconds when it flew off across a very wet and neglected paddock on the adjacent farm.”

Neil Cheasley hear a cuckoo from an open bedroom window in the back of his house, on the edge of the Mendip Hills

He said, “I couldn’t believe my ears ….. Google says that Cuckoos only arrive in the UK in April, so surely this is far too early to be true ….. but I heard it so clearly and distinctly. I may also have seen it fly off but didn’t get a clear sight of it!”

Yes Neil, it probably is far too early to be true. Here’s why he was probably mistaken.

David Teasdale wrote to say he heard a cuckoo today in St Erth in Cornwall.

Dave Pearce claims he heard a cuckoo in Darleyhall, Hertfordshire today.

He said, “I was hearing a cuckoo calling clearly whilst having breakfast and wasn’t really paying attention, but then came to senses and realised how early it was to hear a cuckoo. It was clear as day.”

It is of course 2 months too early for cuckoos to have arrived back in the UK.

Keith Egerton saw a cuckoo today in Rochford in Essex.

He said, “I saw the cuckoo flying low overhead from grassland over the river and identified it by the long tail and the bars on the tail. I have seen and heard cuckoo’s along the river Roach other years at Paglesham.”

What a shame Keith didn’t manage to take a photograph of this record-breaking cuckoo.

Frances Gavin emailed to say she has been listening to a cuckoo all morning in her garden in Moville in County Donegal.

Joanne Manuschka heard a cuckoo today in Littleworth, Worcestershire.

She said, “Could not believe heard cuckoo today why so early. House backs on to open fields.”

Dan Stevens thought he heard a cuckoo today in Bosham, West Sussex. He admitted that he couldn’t quite believe it and wondered what else it might have been. The most likely answer is a collared dove.

Sallie claims to have heard a cuckoo in her garden in Porchester, Nottingham. She said, “It was just getting light. It sounded very clearly like a cuckoo. I hear pigeons, collared Doves all the time this was different. I listened to recording to make sure.”

It is of course far too early for cuckoos to have returned from their wintering grounds, so whatever Sallie heard wasn’t a cuckoo.

Sonia Saunders emailed to say she heard a cuckoo today in Farnham, Suffolk.

She said, “I was very shocked today to hear a cuckoo. My ears were not deceiving me it was a very quiet clear crisp day and the sound of the cuckoo was loud and clear! It seems extremely early!”

It is extremely early. Far too early, in fact for cuckoos to have returned to the UK, so unfortunately Sonia’s ears were deceiving her.

Tracey B says she’s heard a cuckoo in Freiston, Lincolnshire.

She said, “For the last 5 mornings,, about 8am, I have heard a Cuckoo in my garden., not far from my open bedroom window. . I live in a rural area . The wash is just up the lane. My property is surrounded by trees.. I understand that early January is very early to hear a Cuckoo. But after hearing it every morning for nearly a week, I am 100percent sure it’s a Cuckoo.”

Find out here why Tracey is almost certainly 100% wrong.

Debbie Harvey sent us a picture asking us to identify what she thought might be a cuckoo in her garden in Southam, Warwickshire.

This is a great spot of a fieldfare and we suspect that many of those who write to us claiming to have seen cuckoos in December or January have also mistaken them for these visiting winter thrushes.