Help us track Cuckoos and watch the current cohort's epic migration on our Cuckoo migration map. Read the latest updates on how our cuckoos are managing their amazing migration from Britain and Ireland to Africa and back again.
Time, skill and support
Spend as much time as you like following each Cuckoo's migration and reading the updates about their movements.
No technical skills are required to support the Cuckoo Tracking project - just a love of Cuckoos.
Learn more on our Cuckoo BirdFacts page and how to identify them and their call in our Cuckoo ID video.
About the project
We’ve been satellite-tracking Cuckoos since 2011. We’ve learned lots of vital information, such as how the different migration routes are linked to declines, and some of the pressures Cuckoos face whilst on migration, but there is still much more to discover.
- We have been able to share our expertise around tracking Cuckoos with other international studies, such as the Beijing Cuckoo Project.
- Read more about our Cuckoo Tracking Project.
- Explore the Cuckoo BirdFacts page to learn more about this iconic species.
An important aspect of this project is how it helps us improve our understanding of why Cuckoos are in decline:
- Since 1995, the number of Cuckoos has decreased by over 30%.
- The Cuckoo is currently Red-listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern in the UK.
What’s next
We now need to look more closely at how dependent Cuckoos 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.
Learn more
- What have the Cuckoos taught us? (2022)
- Cuckoo's clocks can't adjust to climate change - now we know why (2023)
- Our Cuckoo tracking journey (2024)
- Learn more about Cuckoos (facts, figures, trends)
- Learn how to identify them and their call in our Cuckoo ID video
- More about bird tracking technology (GPS, PTTs, Geolocators)
Support the project
- Help us continue our vital research by sponsoring a Cuckoo.
Cuckoo migration map
Each Cuckoo’s tag sends us location data approximately every day, so we can follow them and learn more about their migration.
Cuckoo movements from 1st May 2025 to 3rd April 2026
Latest updates
Arthur rocks up in Morocco
Having spent the last month in West Africa, feeding up and preparing for his flight across the Sahara, Arthur is now the second of our tagged Cuckoos to head decidedly north.
His latest signal, received this morning, shows that he is currently in western Morocco, close to the popular coastal town of Agadir, having flown some 2,500 km (1,550 miles) from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Will Arthur be the second of our satellite tracked Cuckoos to cross the Mediterranean into Europe this spring?
Hafren signs off
As we prepare for the return of our tagged Cuckoos from their wintering grounds, we have decided to declare Hafren ‘missing in action’.
With the last signal received from his breeding area on 3 June 2005, his current whereabouts are unknown. Did he die in the UK last summer, or were there issues with his satellite tag? It’s highly likely that we’ll never know, but what can say is that between May 2024 (when he was tagged in Worcestershire) to his last signal over a year later, he provided us with some fascinating information.
Ashok heads into Europe
After he’d reached Cameroon in early March, we hadn’t received any signals from Ashok’s tag until this morning.
It would appear that rather than heading west to join the other Cuckoos, he took off north across the central Sahara at some point in the last week, arriving in north-eastern Algeria. Since then he powered purposefully on, crossed the Mediterranean and arrived in the Almería region of south-east Spain yesterday evening!
Ashok is not only the first of our tagged Cuckoos to arrive in Europe this spring but this is also the earliest ever date that one of our satellite tagged birds has done so.
Current Cuckoos
Each year, we follow a cohort of newly tagged Cuckoos as they migrate along the Afro-Palearctic flyway. We also watch Cuckoos tagged in previous years, if their tag is still transmitting data to us. Together, these are our 'Current Cuckoos'.
