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.
Sayaan's Saharan sojourn
After a while gathering strength in the forests of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Sayaan has now set off across the Sahara. Our most recent signal was received on Sunday (11) afternoon, and showed him to be in central Algeria, close to the oasis town of Aïn Salah, the capital of In Salah Province.
Taking a slightly different route from last spring, when he took a more westerly path through Western Sahara and Morocco, it will be interesting to see where he crosses into Europe this year.
Cores leads the way
In the past few days, Cuach Cores has cracked on, speeding through north-east Morocco, crossing the Mediterranean and arriving in Europe, just east of Almeria on the Spanish coast.
From here, he has continued north and is now the most northerly of our tagged birds. He is presently close to the Iregua river, in the La Rioja province, and just 100 km (62 miles) south of Bilbao.
Time out for Cuach Torc
Cuach Torc defied expectations by engaging in some rather unexpected autumn migratory manoeuvres in Europe (see his earlier posts for details!), finally arriving south of the Sahara in early November.
We last heard from him from his position in north-east Gabon, close to the border with Republic of the Congo on 19 December.
Regarding the Cuckoos who we have not heard from for a while, it may be that they are still alive but there is an issue with their tags and we are simply not receiving signals. However, it is normal for birds die in the course of their long migrations, on their breeding grounds, or in their wintering quarters. While we will rarely know what did really happen to these individuals, the incredible information that they provide is invaluable in helping us to understand the extraordinary lives of UK breeding Cuckoos.
Goodbye from George II
George II took a more westerly route than his fellow Scottish bird Henry, but not before toing and froing between Spain and France before eventually crossing the Mediterranean in late September.
By early December he was in southern Cameroon, but sadly we haven’t had any signal from him since then.
Henry's last hurrah
One of our Scottish-tagged birds, Henry made excellent progress on his autumn migration, successfully crossing the Sahara by the end of August. He then made his way slowly south through Chad and into Central African Republic.
We last received a signal from him on 28 November, and it looks probable that that’s the last we’ll hear from him.
Cuthbert’s Cameroon farewell
We last heard from Cuthbert on 7 November, when he was in Cameroon, having made a successful and mostly straightforward migration south from his Suffolk breeding grounds.
Unfortunately, it does look likely that he may have perished in the vast forests of Cameroon.
KO for KP
We’re sorry to say that we haven’t heard anything from KP since October 2024, when we last received a signal from him in his wintering grounds in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Tagged in Ireland in May 2023, KP has provided us with invaluable insights into the movements of these amazing birds.
Severn’s up
Severn had an astonishing autumn migration, which saw him head south through Spain, before reorientating and flying back up via France to Italy, where he spent some time before attempting a crossing of the Mediterranean.
He seemed to be making good progress but then suddenly switched direction and headed east, eventually settling in Macedonia where we last from him in late August.
Cores for celebration
Cuach Cores, whose last signal was received from Central African Republic back in November, suddenly re-appeared, somewhat Lazurus-like, around midday on 8 April in western Algeria!
He is crossing the Sahara in earnest and appears to be heading directly toward Morocco. As of this morning (9 April) he is currently just south of the town of Mogheul.
This time last year, he was still in Nigeria, not arriving in Europe until the end of April, when he touched down in Montpelier, France.
Which route will he take this spring?
Hafren's Spanish flee...
As we expected, Hafren crossed the Mediterranean overnight on 5 April and headed straight inland, passing over Granada and on into central Spain.
He is currently feeding up and resting on the shores of the Puente Nuevo Reservoir in the province of Córdoba.