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Updates from our Cuckoos

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.

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The end of the road for PJ

09 Jun 2022

We are very sad to report that the time has finally come to bid farewell to our old friend PJ, the longest lived of our satellite tagged Cuckoos to date. PJ was tagged in the King's Forest in Suffolk on Tuesday 7 June, 2016 when he was already a second year bird (i.e. hatched in 2015). He arrived back in the UK on 24th April this year but there have been no transmissions from his tag since 6th May when he was still at his breeding grounds in the King's Forest. Tag failures are rare in the UK, where the tags are not exposed to such harsh conditions as when the birds are on migration, so we must assume that PJ has reached the end of his life. He was at least seven years old when he arrived in the King’s Forest this spring, only one year short of the longevity record for a wild UK Cuckoo.

As well as being the first tagged Cuckoo to use both the Spanish and Italian routes to the wintering grounds in the Congo Basin, PJ completed six epic tracked migrations to Africa and back. This is the greatest number of migratory journeys of any tagged Cuckoo. When he returned to the UK in April this year he had over 60,000 miles under his wing.

Although PJ may be gone, his legacy - six years of location data - lives on, and his contribution to our understanding of Cuckoo migration will continue to inform BTO’s research. PJ built on the contributions of all the tagged Cuckoos before him, just as this year’s cohort will build on the knowledge we gained from PJ - a body of research which we hope will help reverse the sad decline seen in the UK Cuckoo population.

We are grateful for the data and the inspiration that PJ has given us and hope that you too have enjoyed following him. If you'd like to share any reflections on PJ's amazing story we would love to hear them.

No news from PJ

27 May 2022

It's been a couple of weeks since we've received any updates from PJ. The last transmission from his tag showed that he was at his breeding grounds in the King's Forest, Thetford.

PJ is back again

25 Apr 2022
New updates received early yesterday morning (24 April) showed that PJ had flown the final 1,000 km from northern Spain and was back in the UK. Further updates received since tell us that he is safely back on his breeding grounds in the King's Forest in Suffolk having completed his sixth tracked migration between the UK and Africa. Each complete migration from Suffolk to his wintering grounds in the Congo Basin and back again is approximately 16,000 km (9,940 miles) so we have now tracked him over at least 96,000 km (59,640 miles). He was a second year bird when we tagged him so he had already completed a full migration cycle before we tagged him in 2016. This means that over the course of his life so far he has flown 112,000 km (69,580 miles) on migration alone. It is a wonder he has any energy left to chase around his breeding grounds defending his territory and searching for mates! The oldest ringed UK Cuckoo was caught alive at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire in 1983 - 6 years, 11 months and 2 days after he was ringed as an adult, making him at least 7 years, 11 months and 2 days old. PJ will have to survive another year to vie for the crown of the UK's oldest known Cuckoo but his achievements so far have already exceeded our wildest expectations - what a bird!

PJ reaches northern Spain

18 Apr 2022
Over the last 472 Km (294 miles) north to northern Spain. He is now more or less neck and neck with Victor II who is approximately 200 Km (125 miles) east of him. PJ is now in the Sierra del Perdon mountain range approximately 10 Km south of Pamplona. 

PJ nudges west in Spain

11 Apr 2022
New updates show that PJ has flown 57 km (35 miles) west and is now in the Sierra de Alacaraz mountain range in Albacete Province, southeast Spain.

PJ arrives in Spain

07 Apr 2022
PJ has continued his progress north after crossing the Sahara and over the last 48 hours he has crossed the Mediterranean and arrived in Spain. By the early hours of yesterday morning he had made it to the Murcia province of southern Spain where he was just within the Paraje El Nevazo de Abajo ecological park. He is 113km (70 miles) due west of Alicante so he is still a couple of hundred kilometres further east than his usual route, but as we now know, this is no big deal for these birds! He is approximately 175km further north than Cuckoo Ellis but will he maintain this lead or will Ellis leap frog him? It usually takes PJ no more than about 10 days to get from Spain back to the UK so we are keeping everything crossed that we'll soon be sending you the exciting news that he has made it "home".

PJ is crossing the Sahara

04 Apr 2022

Almost six years after he was tagged in June 2016, Cuckoo PJ is once again speeding back to his breeding grounds in the King's Forest, Suffolk. Wintering each year in northern Angola and the Congo Basin, he returns via Ivory Coast in west Africa, a 16,000km (10,000 mile) round trip. This means that if he makes it back to Suffolk this year he will have racked up well in excess of 60,000 miles in his lifetime. We continue to be amazed by the feats of this incredible Cuckoo and remain thankful that the tag has lasted so well.

PJ has spent the last few weeks in Ivory Coast, feeding up in preparation for attempting his crossing of the Sahara. At 09:02 on Saturday morning (April 2) he was in southern Mauritania. Over the next 38 hours he continued north over the desert, flying at an average speed of 28mph and covering 1,340 km (832 miles) so that by 23:42 last night (April 3) he had reached western Algeria. His route north over the desert has taken him further east than in previous year because of stiff westerly winds. These will switch to southerly as he moves north over Algeria, giving him a welcome boost along the way. He usually progresses through Spain and France back to England, arriving back in Suffolk between 18th and 30th April. 

PJ pushes west into Ivory Coast

04 Mar 2022
New updates received early this morning (4 March) show that PJ has flown 366km (227 miles) south west from Ghana into Ivory Coast. He is now in central Ivory Coast, approximately 40km north of the capital city of Yamoussoukro and just north of the town of Tiebissou. PJ knows this part of Central Ivory coast well, having stopped off here on previous northward migrations. We expect him to remain here for a few weeks before embarking on the next leg of his journey.   

PJ arrives in West Africa

27 Feb 2022
New updates received from PJ's tag between 9am and 11am this morning (27 Feb) show that he has flown 2,134km (1,326 miles) north west from the Congo to Ghana. He is now in north west Ghana, close to the border with Ivory Coast. PJ usually stops off in Ivory Coast for a few weeks before embarking on the next leg of his journey by crossing the Sahara. Last year PJ arrived in Ghana on 27th Feb and moved on to Ivory Coast by 1st March where he stayed until beginning his crossing of the Sahara on 14th April. So we expect PJ to cross over into Ivory Coast and then to stay there until early April.  

PJ is on the move

22 Feb 2022
It looks as if PJ has begun his migration north, leaving Gabon behind and flying 255km (159 miles) north into the Republic of Congo. He is now in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in northern Congo, first protected in 1935, making it one of Africa's oldest national parks. 440 bird species have been recorded in this park, along with around 100 mammal species including one of Africa's most diverse primate populations. The habitat here is old growth forest, jungle, dry forest, savanna and rainforest.  

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