Cuckoo Tracking Project

Cuckoo Tracking Project

Help us track Cuckoos and learn even more about their epic migration: sponsor a cuckoo. 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.

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.

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 2024 to 21st May 2025

Cuckoo positions on:
Wed May 21 2025
213804 location232670 location242383 location242384 location242386 location242388 location242502 location262928 location262930 location262931 location262932 location262933 location262934 location262936 location262937 location262938 location
Leaflet OSM Mapnik

Project team

Leads

Contact

  • cuckoos@bto.org

Project timeline

  • 5/11 - First round of five Cuckoos tagged, wintering sites in the Congo identified
  • 3/12 - Different routes discovered on return journeys
  • 2016 - First scientific paper published on on the routes of our Cuckoos

Code of Conduct

Volunteers must follow BTO’s Code of Conduct. This code applies to our staff, our members, and volunteers, including surveyors and participants in the Ringing and Nest Record Schemes, (hereafter referred to collectively as ‘staff and supporters’). It applies to all BTO activities, whether online (including meetings and events, telephone, letter, and email) or offline (any face-to-face interaction). We've also written some guidance for volunteer fieldworkers, which will help beginners in particular.