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Updates from our Cuckoos

Read the latest updates from our Cuckoos on their migration.

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.  

Ellis moves north in Spain

18 Apr 2023
Ellis has flown 300km (186 miles) north west overnight, taking him from Malaga to Extramedura. He is now just west of the city of Cáceres in west central Spain. 

Ellis moves north in Malaga

17 Apr 2023
After a couple of days close to the town of Casarabonela, Ellis has flown 31km (19 miles) north west and is now just north of the town of Almargen. He is now on farmland of olive groves, corn and sunflower. Last year he left Spain on 8 April and then spent 10 days in France before arriving back in the UK on 20 April.  

Ellis arrives in Europe

13 Apr 2023
After a longer journey through Western Sahara and Morocco than we had expected, Ellis is on the move again and by 10am yesterday morning (Wednesday 12 April) he had flown 795km (494 miles) out of Africa and into Los Alcornocales Natural Park in Andalusia, southern Spain. A single update received just after 8am this morning (Thursday 13 April) suggest that Ellis has continued north east and is near Gibralgalia in Malaga. 

Ellis progresses north in Morocco

11 Apr 2023
Ellis has flown 161km (100 miles) north within Morocco and is now 40km (25 miles) north east of the town of Sidi Ifni Province, Guelmim-Oued Noun, Morocco. Last year Ellis only stopped briefly in northern Morocco before pressing on to Spain on 31 March so he is spending much longer exploring Morocco this year.

Ellis crosses into Morocco

05 Apr 2023
Since our last update Ellis has flown 292km (181 miles) north east from his last location in Western Sahara, taking him over the border into southern Morocco. He is now 95km (60 miles) east of the city of Tan-Tan and 36km (22 miles) north west of the town of Labouriat. He has stopped in an area just south of the Draa River, Morocco's longest river. This area is designated as an Important Bird Area following a survey in 1999 which recorded the presence of the near-threatened Marbled Teal and larger numbers of Ruddy Shelduck as well as 35 breeding species. Hopefully Ellis is finding some food and shelter here to sustain him and we'll see him moving north again soon. 

Ellis approaching Morccco

02 Apr 2023
Since our last update Ellis has flown a further 382km (237 miles) north through Western Sahara. A new update received at 7am this morning showed him close to the small town of Daoura, and approximately 44km (27 miles) north of the Western Sahara capital city Laayoune. He appears to be close to an intermittent river which has some bushes and shrubs along its length so hopefully he is finding some food here to sustain his onwards journey north over the border into Morocco.

Ellis is crossing the Sahara

31 Mar 2023
Perthshire Cuckoo Ellis is following hot on the heels of Llangollen Cuckoo JAC and embarked on his desert crossing. Having departed his stop over in Guinea, by 11pm last night (30 March) he was passing 120km west of the Eye of Africa in west central Mauritania. He has since flown a further 412km, heading in a north westerly direction towards the coast of central Western Sahara. At 06:38 this morning he was still crossing the desert and was approximately 155km north east of the town of Dakhla in Western Sahara. He seems to have been pushed east by fairly strong easterly winds over the last 24 hours or so. These winds should be easing as he progresses into northern Western Sahara. Last year after crossing the desert he stopped in Morocco, north of Marrakesh, 1,000km north of his current location. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that when we next hear from Ellis he will have completed his desert crossing. 

Ellis could be moving soon

24 Mar 2023
Ellis has spent the last month north east of Sierra Leone in Guinea. He is approximately 30km (18.5 miles) north of the city of Kissidougou. Last year he began his migration across the Sahara on 28th March, so we expect to see him make his move very soon!

Ellis stopping off in Guinea

21 Feb 2023
After his big move west from the Congo Basin to West Africa, Ellis has now relocated within Guinea. He has flown an additional 175km (108 miles) north west and is now 30km (18.5 miles) north of the city of Kissidougou in southern Guinea. He is just 22km (14.5 miles) south west of the area where he spent several weeks on his way north last year.

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