We are delighted to introduce a new cohort of satellite tagged Cuckoos to add to the previously tagged birds that we followed back to the UK earlier in the spring.

As we now know, thanks to the Cuckoo Tracking Project, the first birds start to leave their breeding areas by mid June, and this year is proving no different; we have already seen some notable movements.

Newly tagged Irish bird Cuach Rua has already made his way to south-west Wales while Cuach Sean has made remarkable progress, having crossed the Channel and flown across France int o the Alps and down into northern Italy!    

Scottish tagged Thomas J left the north-west Highlands on 9 June and has since made his way down the east coast, spending some time in Lincolnshire before crossing The Wash. He is currently just south of King’s Lynn in Norfolk. 

Meanwhile, another newly tagged bird, Beech, has left Thetford Forest where he was tagged on 28 May, and having flown to the Belgian coast is now making progress through Germany. 

All our other Cuckoos are still staying put in their breeding grounds for now, but we will surely see more movement in the coming days as they commence their epic migrations through Europe, and into Africa!

Introducing the Cuckoo cohort of 2026…

Cuckoo Crispin – tagged at High Lodge in Thetford Forest and funded by a generous BTO donor.

Cuckoo Rob – tagged in Kintail in the Scottish Highlands and named in memory of the tag funders’ late friend, Rob Watson.

Cuckoo Beech – tagged in Thetford Forest and names after one of the tag funder’s favourite tree species.

Cuckoo Thomas J – tagged in Kintail in the Scottish Highlands and named by the tag funder in memory of Thomas Joseph Paul; a well-travelled engineer and gentleman with a lifelong love for the Scottish hills.

Cuckoo 40926 (name tbc) was tagged in Kintail in the Scottish Highlands and is awaiting a name so if you’d like to fund his tag (£4,000) please get in touch!

Irish Birds

Cuach Sean – tagged at Derrybawn in Wicklow National Park and named after the tag funder’s son.

Cuach Rua – funded by NPWS and named after Slieve Rua which is a hilltop in Burren National Park close to where he was captured. Rua also means red in Irish.

Just under a week ago, Frederic left central Spain and started heading to the UK. 

He made his way north, passing Salamanca before heading toward the coast, from where he crossed the Bay of Biscay from Santander. He soon arrived on the French coast, close to the city of Saint-Nazaire, and from here he continued on through Brittany before crossing The Channel and into the UK near Worthing. He quickly pushed on, arriving near Thetford Forest, Norfolk, last Sunday. In just two days, he covered over 1,500 km (930 miles) to return to the location where he was tagged in May 2025.   

As the last of the tagged Cuckoos, from which we’re currently receiving signals, to arrive in the UK, Frederic completes the set! 

These birds will likely remain in the same areas that they are now in for the next few weeks, until they start to move south once again! 

• And of course, we will be tagging more Cuckoos this spring, so keep an eye out for updates—and do please consider sponsoring this amazing project!  

We’re delighted to report that Ashok is once again back on Suffolk soil, after his surprise U-turn back to France just days after first arriving back in early April. 

BTO Cuckoo experts noted a drop in temperature which coincided with Ashok’s initial arrival, which is almost certainly what caused him to fly back across The Channel. Now, after a good spell in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France, he has returned and is back around Worlingham Marshes, Suffolk, where he was tagged last May.