Updates from our Cuckoos

PJ is the second of our tagged Cuckoos this year to move into West Africa!  By the evenng of 22 February he had covered a distance of 1230km (765 miles) west and was in Togo but, new signals received yesterday morning, show he has continued 960km (600 miles) further to Ivory Coast. He is in the west of Ivory Coast, 165km (just over 100 miles) east of Selborne in Guinea. This could be where he prepares for his desert crossing, as he did last year, crossing in early April.

New signals on the afternoon of 22 January show that PJ was continuing northwards and had made it 800km (just under 500 miles) north from Gabon to reach Cameroon. He is just north of the Mbam et Djerem National Park. 

PJ is already on the move northwards. From Angola on the 22 January, he travelled 755km (470 miles) in a north-easterly direction to get back to Gabon by the evening of 26 December. In 2016/17 his behaviour was similar, heading north from Angola to the centre of the Republic of Congo in the second week of January and moving on again north by the end of January. It's the beginning of his long journey home.

As expected PJ has continued southwards. By 12 November he was just east of the Crystal Mountains in southern Congo and by 16 Nov he was in the Zaire region in northern Angola. Signals on 19 Nov revealed a further southerly movement of 160km (almost 100 miles) to the Coutada do Ambriz reserve. In total he has moved over 890km (590 miles) from his location on 14 November. He may still go a little further within Angola, as last year saw him venture to the Parc Nacional da Quicama, 170km (110 miles) further south. 

PJ has moved 290km (180 miles) south within Congo in the last week and is now in the Lekoumou region, 40 miles south of Bateke Plateau National Park. Last year he was in Angola by the 25 October and remained there until January so we expect him to continue moving south to reach the same area. 

PJ has headed south and is now in the lowland forests of the Congo Basin, within Congo. He has covered around 590km (366 miles) from his previous location in the Central African Republic. 

PJ has continued quickly onwards flying 290km (180 miles) in an easterly direction which has taken him into the Central African Republic. He is still just north of the Congo Basin area. 

From Niger, PJ has traveled 1390km (860 miles) south east to Cameroon! He is just south of the Mbam et Djerem National Park and almost in the Congo Basin area, which covers the southern half of Cameroon and spans across six countries - Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. We expect him to move south into the Congo Basin over the next few weeks. 
 

PJ has moved 155km (95 miles) north from Nigeria into Niger, back to the area he was in around the middle of July.