As we head into December, we can expect our tagged Cuckoos to be fairly settled for the next few weeks. They should now be firmly in their ‘wintering’ grounds in the Congo basin, feasting on tropical insects, and trying to avoid getting eaten themselves – there are lots of predatory birds, mammals, and reptiles in that region!

Of the 11 tagged Cuckoos that left the UK in summer, we have continued to receive regular updates from nine. 

The furthest east of our birds are Joe and Sayaan, both of whom are in Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are currently just 12 km (7 miles) away from each other, in the dense rainforests to the north of the Busira River. 

Our most southerly Cuckoo is Cleeve, deep in the Republic of the Congo, close to the Léfini Faunal Reserve. He is in the same area as Wingston, who has in recent days been less than 40 km (25 miles) away from him. Cuckoo Norman is the west of these two birds, close to the Gabon border.

Furthest north we find Jim and Arthur, both in Gabon. Nearby is Ashok, less than 50 km (31 miles) to the south of Jim. Frederic has recently crossed the border of Republic of the Congo and headed east into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he is currently by the large freshwater Lake Mai-Ndombe.

Two birds, Cores and Wilfrid, made it across the Sahara but after some promising movements, we soon lost track of them. Cores’ signal stopped on 27 October, when he was in southern Chad, while we last heard from Wilfrid on 20 September as he moved toward Nigeria from Niger. It may be that these two ‘lost’ Cuckoos have reached the end of their lives, or that the satellite tags have failed. 

We may never know what happened to this pair, but we do know that each bird has provided us with remarkable information that has allowed us invaluable insights into the complex stories of Cuckoo migration. 

The remaining Cuckoos will likely remain in their wintering areas until February, when we will hope to see some movement as they prepare to commence their long flights back to Europe for the 2026 breeding season. For some of this Cuckoo cohort, it will be the first time that we get to follow their remarkable journeys north. 

We will, as always, keep an eye on the Cuckoos and as soon as we see signs that they’re starting to head back we will post updates and track their incredible progress once more! 

Frederic was in central Nigeria in mid-October. 

In recent days he has headed south-east into the depths of the central Cameroon forest-savanna region, just to the south of Mpem and Djim National Park. This vast protected area is home to at least 76 species of mammal including Leopard, Chimpanzee, Hippopotamus, and African Forest Elephant.

Frederic spent the last couple of weeks in Mali after making his epic, if somewhat late, Saharan crossing. He has sprung into action in recent days and has covered an impressive distance of almost 1,500 km (930 miles). 

Heading south-west, he flew across northern Burkina Faso, then through the southern tip of Niger, and is now in central north Nigeria. He is currently just south of Kano, the second largest city in Nigeria. 

Following our last update, Frederic set off south through France and crossed the Pyrenees once again. 48 hours, and approximately 780 km (485 miles) later, he was on the southern Spanish coast just east of Almeria. An overnight crossing of the Mediterranean saw him arriving in north-east Morocco in the early hours of 20 Sept. 

After a rest, he set off again, and headed across the Sahara, covering around 2,200 km (1,367 miles), arriving on the shores of the Niger River in the Tombouctou Region of Mali. After a few days resting and feeding up, he has continued his exploration of the area and just after 5am this morning (29) had moved a short way further south. 

After several weeks hanging around in the Médoc Regional Natural Park region, to the northwest of Bordeaux, Cuckoo Frederic has suddenly leapt, Lazarus-like, into life!  

Yesterday evening he set off south and flew approximately 130 km (80 miles), arriving in a lightly wooded region near the small village of Arengosse.  

Given that he had inexplicably returned to France from Spain back in mid-July and the fact that we were seeing his satellite signal repeatedly coming from a very small area, we were beginning to think that Frederic had perhaps reached the end of his journey.

So, it was quite a thrill to see this latest movement! Fingers crossed he is in good enough shape to continue his onward migration in the coming days!

Since his return to France from Spain back in July, Frederic appears to have been staying fairly loyal to an area near Bordeaux. 

Potentially, this could indicate that he has perished there and that his satellite tag is still sending signals, or it could be that he is simply still preparing to head south – last year Cuach Torc lingered in northern Germany into late September before he finally set off, not making a Saharan crossing until the end of October, so there’s still a chance that Frederic will spring into southbound action!       

Having made his way into Spain over three weeks ago, we would have expected Frederic to continue his journey south. But Cuckoos will be Cuckoos, and he has not followed our logic! 

Ten days ago, he turned about-face and headed 450 km (280 miles) back north, and returned to south-western France. For the last few days, he has once again been exploring the Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park, an area that he initially left in early July! 

Thetford-tagged Frederic appears to be taking it relatively easy, making his way slowly through Spain. Our latest update indicates that he has moved south-west into the Castile and León region and is roughly 100 km (62 miles) north of the capital Madrid. Hopefully he’s finding plenty of food to sustain his long and arduous crossing to North Africa and across the Sahara.  

Since our last check-in four days ago, Frederic has flown a further 300 km (186 miles) and has now crossed the Pyrenees. 

He is currently in a remote and sparsely populated mountain region in the Spanish province of La Rioja. 

In the past couple of days, Frederic has moved a further 260 km (161 miles) south-west, and appears to be heading for Spain. Currently south of Bordeaux and in the Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park, famous for its wintering Cranes, he is just 130 km (80 miles) from the Pyrenees and the Spanish border. 

Will Frederic be the only one of our tagged Cuckoos to take the western route this summer, or will others follow?   

Another newly tagged Cuckoo, Frederic left Norfolk five days ago, and headed determinedly south. After a day on the south Kent coast, he set off across The Channel from Dungeness, arriving on the French coast near Le Tréport, Normandy.  

From here he continued south into central France, bypassing Paris, before veering slightly west. He is currently just north of Limoges, near the town of Le Dorat, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, having covered around 810 km (503 miles) since setting off. 

Frederic was tagged at High Fen Wildland, near Thetford in Breckland on May 21.