Cuckoo updates

Read the latest updates from our Cuckoos on their epic migration between the UK and tropical Africa, or track their movements in real-time on our Cuckoo migration map. If you enjoy these updates, please consider sponsoring a Cuckoo. Sponsors receive special updates about their chosen Cuckoo in the Cuckoo e-newsletter.

By year

By name

Introducing Cuach Torc

07 Jun 2023

Cuach is the Irish name for Cuckoo, and Torc is the name of one of the mountains in Killarney National Park where he was tagged.

Torc was one of three handsome male Cuckoos caught by the tagging team on the morning of 17 May.

Over the weekend Torc has flown 136 km (84 miles) north-east and is now close to the town of Clonmel in County Tipperary.

Welcome back Cuckoo Bluey

07 Jun 2023

In early May we were surprised to receive a photograph of a satellite-tagged Cuckoo on the Knepp Estate in Sussex. This was unexpected, because although we have previously tagged birds at Knepp, we had lost contact with them all, either because they had died or the tag had failed.

So it was with great excitement that the team approached their nets early on the morning of 18 May after watching a tagged Cuckoo fly towards them. They had indeed caught the tagged bird and they soon discovered that this was Bluey, originally tagged in May 2022 at Knepp.

We tracked Bluey south across the Sahara to the border region between Mali and Senegal but lost contact with him in late July 2022. The diagnostic data from his tag did not suggest any sort of tag malfunction so we concluded that he had perished.

It was a joy to hear that he was alive and well back in Sussex. He appeared to be in good health, so the team removed his original tag and fitted him with a new tag; hopefully, this one will last longer. The map on this page will show his movements since having his new tag fitted in May 2023. We are hoping that we’ll be able to find out why his original tag failed.

Since being tagged, Bluey has remained on the Knepp Estate.

Introducing Cuckoo Sayaan

07 Jun 2023

Sayaan was tagged at the amazing Knepp Estate in Sussex, and has remained in the same area since.

Introducing Cuckoo Cleeve

06 Jun 2023

Cuckoo Cleeve was tagged on Loddon Common in the Norfolk Broads and after retrieving him from the nets, the team made the exciting discovery that he was already fitted with a BTO ring. We soon discovered that Cleeve had been ringed in May 2019 at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire. We were touched to discover that the ringer was the late Michael Holdsworth, a member of the Wicken Fen Ringing Group and a wonderfully supportive BTO member and volunteer who sadly passed away in 2019. Having been instrumental to our Spotted Flycatcher tracking work, Michael would have been thrilled to know that the Cuckoo he had ringed had been recaught and that we would be tracking its movements from now on. Since being tagged, Cleeve has remained at his breeding grounds on Loddon Common.

Introducing Cuckoo George

07 Jun 2023

Cuckoo George was tagged on Loddon Common in the Norfolk Broads, and has remained in this area since he was tagged on 17 May 2023.

Ellis lost in Spain

05 May 2023

When we last reported on Ellis' movements he had just moved north in Spain to the outskirts of the city of Caceres in Extremadura, west central Spain. It has now been more than two weeks since he arrived there and data received from his tag earlier this week show lower than expected temperature readings. Taken together this information strongly suggests that Ellis has perished in Spain. You may have seen that he had a rather protracted journey through Africa and we fear that the drought in Spain may have made his recovery from his desert crossing difficult. It has been nearly two years since we tagged Ellis and he has given us some fantastic data as he migrated between Scotland and the Congo. Thank you and farewell Ellis.

Joe is back

24 Apr 2023

New updates received from Joe's tag late last night and early this morning show that he has flown the final 900km (559 miles) from the south of France back to his breeding grounds in Norfolk. At the beginning of February, Joe was still in the Congo and since then he has flown approximately 7,657km (4,758 miles) on his migration back to the UK. Last year he departed Norfolk on 13 June and if he follows a similar routine this year he will remain in Norfolk for the next seven weeks or so.

JAC is back!

24 Apr 2023

We are pleased to report that JAC completed his migration back to his breeding grounds over the weekend. Over the last three months he has flown 8,270km (5,138 miles) on his migration north and has arrived at his breeding grounds approximately one week earlier than last year. In 2021 he departed on 23 June and in 2022 he left on on 20 June so we expect him to stay in the World's End area for approximately two months before heading off on his return migration to the Congo.

JAC reaches northern France

21 Apr 2023

New updates received from JAC's tag on Wednesday (19 April) show that he had flown 923km (574 miles) north from his last location in eastern Spain to northern Brittany. At 21:42 on Wednesday 19 April he was just west of the town of Saint-Gonnery. Where will he be when we receive the next update?

The end of the road for Victor II

20 Apr 2023

We have been following Victor II since he was tagged on the shores of Loch Katrine in Perthshire, Scotland on 19 May 2021. He was so close to giving us two complete migrations to the Congo Basin and back but was found dead yesterday near Valencia and quickly reported by the finder to us. We have since been corresponding with the finder to secure the return of his tag and are urgently trying to arrange a post-mortem.

While we are of course very sad to have lost Victor II, he may well have more to teach us. It is rare for us to have the opportunity to learn the cause of death of our Cuckoos. If we can arrange a post-mortem it could provide us with useful information about his general condition as well as the cause of death. We will examine his tag for wear and tear and hopefully arrange for it to be reconditioned and reused. We will of course update you with any new information we are able to glean over the coming weeks. In the meantime we bid farewell and thanks to Victor II and focus our attention on our three remaining birds - Joe, JAC and Ellis.