Grove II arrived in Gabon in early October and although he moved a few hundred km east in mid December he has remained in Gabon. We last received an update from Grove II's tag on 6 January when he was in dense rainforest in eastern Gabon. Assuming he has remained here he is currently close to the border with the Republic of the Congo, approximately 50km north of the Gabon town of Okondja. Hopefully the radio silence has been caused by the dense rainforest canopy and we will receive further updates when he emerges. This is the first year of winter tracking for Grove II.
Cuckoo Tracking Project
What have the Cuckoos taught us?
When the Cuckoo Tracking Project began, we knew very little about what our breeding Cuckoos did once they left the UK for the winter months. Amost 100 tagged birds later, our new blog explores what we have learned and the questions we're still asking.
Help us follow Cuckoos on migration and discover why they are in decline.
The Cuckoo is currently Red Listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern in the UK, due to its population decline.
Since 2011 we’ve been satellite-tracking Cuckoos to find out why they are declining. We’ve learned lots of vital information which could help us to understand our Cuckoos, such as how the different routes taken are linked to declines, and some of the pressures they face whilst on migration — but there is still more to discover. We now need to look more closely at how dependent they 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.
Follow our Cuckoos as they move to and from Africa.
This project wouldn't have been possible without the amazing support from funders and sponsors. Read more about the project and find out how you can get involved.
We have been able to share our expertise around tracking Cuckoos with other international studies, such as the Beijing Cuckoo Project.
Skill required
Cuckoo movements from 01 May 2022 to 06 February 2023
View routes starting..
Cuckoo positions on
Latest updates
Grove II still in Gabon?
30 Jan 2023
Joe is in the Republic of the Congo
30 Jan 2023
Joe arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in late September and remained there until 14 January when he moved west and crossed over into the Republic of the Congo. He has remained there since and is currently in the banks of the Sangha River in north eastern Republic of the Congo. As Joe was tagged in 2022, this is our first winter of tracking data for him.
Victor II is in Gabon
30 Jan 2023
Victor II spent last winter in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo and he has done the same this winter. Last year he moved into northern Gabon on 1 Feb and he remained here until 14 March when he progressed west to Ghana. He then moved quickly to Ivory Coast where he remained until 14 April when he began his desert crossing. If he follows last year's timetable we will see Victor II moving further north in Gabon any day.
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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