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 24th April 2026
Latest updates
Cuach Cores stays on course
As we intimated in our last update, Cuach Cores was certainly poised and ready to complete his journey to Ireland. He didn’t mess around. He took off in a north-westerly direction, passing up through Brittany before heading straight out to sea, and on towards the Isles of Scilly. Continuing on, he arrived on the County Cork coast before forging on to Killarney National Park, County Kerry, where he was tagged on 17 May 2023.
Cuach Cores spent little more than six weeks on his breeding grounds last summer – how long will he stay this year?
One Show star Cleeve is on his way!
Since we last posted his whereabouts just three days ago, Cleeve has left central Spain and made his way more than 900 km (560 miles) crossing the Bay of Biscay, and into western France.
From here he should make his way swiftly back to the UK and towards Thetford Forest, Norfolk, where he was filmed by the BBC One Show, being tagged and released in May 2024!
Sayaan’s Sussex return
Sayann left the Pyrenees and took off across France at the end of last week, covering almost 1,000 km (620 miles) before arriving on the English coast on Saturday. He passed over Brighton and headed inland, straight to the Knepp Estate where he was tagged on 18 May, 2023.
He returned five days earlier this year than he did last spring, when he took an unusual route north through Italy before arriving back in Sussex.
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'.
