Cuckoo Tracking Project

Help us track Cuckoos and learn even more about their epic migration

We’ve been satellite-tracking Cuckoos since 2011. We’ve learned lots of vital information, such as how the different migration routes are linked to declines, and some of the pressures Cuckoos face whilst on migration, but there is still much more to discover.

An important aspect of this project is how it helps us improve our understanding of why Cuckoo are in decline:

  • Since 1995, the number of Cuckoos has decreased by over 30%.
  • The Cuckoo is currently Red-listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern in the UK.

Our Cuckoo Tracking Project is vital and it wouldn’t be possible without the amazing support from funders and sponsors.

Sponsor a Cuckoo

​What’s next

We now need to look more closely at how dependent Cuckoos are on, and how much their migration is linked to, the drought-busting rains of the weather frontal system known as the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) as they move out of the Congo rainforest and begin to head back to the UK via West Africa.

Watch the Cuckoos migrate on our map

Each Cuckoo’s tag sends us location data approximately every day, so we can follow them and learn more about their migration.

Time / skill required

  • Spend as much time as you like following each Cuckoo's migration on the map below - use the controls to animate or step through their movements.
  • No technical skills are required to support this project - just a love of Cuckoos.

Cuckoo movements from 01 May 2024 to 22 September 2024

View routes starting..
Cuckoo positions on
 
 
 
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Current Cuckoos

Cleeve
ID: 262930
Status: active
Cuach Cores. Cores

Cuach Cores
ID: 242386
Status: active
Cuach Torc. Torc

Cuach Torc
ID: 242384
Status: active
Cuthbert, tagged Cuckoo, 2024 cohort / BTO

Cuthbert
ID: 262937
Status: active

George 2
ID: 262934
Status: active

Hafren
ID: 262938
Status: active

Henry
ID: 262933
Status: active
Joe, Cranwich Heath, 2022. PTT 232670 Joe

Joe
ID: 232670
Status: active
KP. KP

KP
ID: 242388
Status: active

MacSporran
ID: 262931
Status: deceased

Nick 2
ID: 262928
Status: active
Sayaan. Sayaan

Sayaan
ID: 242502
Status: active

Severn
ID: 262932
Status: active
Trent Trent

Trent
ID: 242383
Status: presumed dead
Wilfred, tagged Cuckoo, 2024 cohort / BTO

Wilfrid
ID: 262936
Status: active

View previously tagged birds

Latest updates

Torc treks north
13 Sep 2024

Torc has certainly had us scratching our heads a little in recent weeks. By mid July he looked poised to cross the Mediterranean from his position in southern Greece, but since then he has headed back north through the Balkans and into central Europe.

For some reason, he is now in Saxony, western Germany, approximately 53 km (32 miles) north of Leipzig. We just hope that he can find enough food to fatten himself up for a journey south soon.   

By this time last year Cuach Torc had already been on the other side of the Sahara for around six weeks, having crossed the Mediterranean in late July. What will he do next?   

Hafren bowls into Benin

13 Sep 2024

For much of the last month, Hafren has been in Burkina Faso, but in recent days he has made a significant move to the east.

Since leaving Burkina Faso just two days ago, he has passed through northern Ghana, then Togo, and as of this morning he is in the Borgou Department of northern Benin. Our satellite signal currently shows him to be close to a stretch of the Bouli River, a few miles west of the Trois Rivières forest reserve.

Torc Czechs in
06 Sep 2024

After trying Croatia, Greece, Albania and Bosnia & Herzegovinia, new signals received from Torc's tag last night showed that he had flown 740 km (460 miles) north to the Czech Republic.

He is now near the town of Holýšov, in the Plzeň Region of western Czech Republic.

Browse updates from our Cuckoos

Project Lead
Email Contact:
cuckoos@bto.org

Project timeline, contributions & findings

Project timeline

  • 5/11 - First round of five Cuckoos tagged, wintering sites in the Congo identified 
  • 3/12 - Different routes discovered on return journeys
  • 2016 - First scientific paper published on on the routes of our Cuckoos

Contributions & findings

Support the project

You can help keep this important project going by either giving a donation, becoming a Cuckoo sponsor, or gifting a sponsorship to someone else. We greatly appreciate the support the project has received, allowing us to continue to monitor this endangered species.

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