Updates from our Cuckoos

Cuach Cores, whose last signal was received from Central African Republic back in November, suddenly re-appeared, somewhat Lazurus-like, around midday on 8 April in western Algeria!

He is crossing the Sahara in earnest and appears to be heading directly toward Morocco. As of this morning (9 April) he is currently just south of the town of Mogheul.   

This time last year, he was still in Nigeria, not arriving in Europe until the end of April, when he touched down in Montpelier, France.

Which route will he take this spring?  

As we expected, Hafren crossed the Mediterranean overnight on 5 April and headed straight inland, passing over Granada and on into central Spain. 

He is currently feeding up and resting on the shores of the Puente Nuevo Reservoir in the province of Córdoba. 

When we last checked in, just before the weekend, Hafren was close to Mijek in Western Sahara. Since then he has cut up through Morocco, passing close to the cities of Marrakesh and Fes, before arriving on the north Moroccan coast close to Temsaman commune in the Driouch Province, on Saturday.

His most recent signal shows that he has now set off across the Mediterranean. If he crosses without incident, he should make landfall somewhere between Malaga and Almeria.

Hot on Wilfrid’s heels, Hafren has now set off across the Sahara.

Leaving his temporary stopping-off point in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, he skirted along the eastern border of Guinea, cut across south-eastern Mali, and motored through Mauritania before arriving in Western Sahara, covering around 2,200 km (1,370 miles).   

From here, he should head up along the Moroccan coast, after which he will cross into Spain.

We hadn’t received any signals from Wilfrid since March 20, when he was still in south-east Guinea. Any concerns that we may have had for his wellbeing and whereabouts were joyously dashed yesterday when it became clear that he’d made significant progress since his last check-in.

At some point in the last 11 days he headed north in earnest, clearing the Sahara and arriving in the Extremadura region in central Spain! Currently just north of Guadalupe, he has covered at least 3,500 km (2,174 miles) since leaving Guinea and in excess of 7,000 km (4,350 miles) since departing his wintering grounds in Angola.

Of all our tagged Cuckoos, Wilfrid was the one who wintered the furthest south this year and he is now by far the most northerly of our birds!

Sayaan has finally made a move, leaving his wintering grounds in the dense rainforests of the Congo basin. In just a few days, he rapidly flew over 2,000 km (1,240 miles) to the south-west Nigerian coast. 

After a brief stop on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, he has now moved a further 470 km (292 miles) into central Ghana.  

Cleeve has made his way from Republic of the Congo, across the Gulf of Guinea, covering around 2,200 km (1,367 miles). He is now in eastern Côte d'Ivoire, hot on the heels of Cuckoo Joe!

Since we last checked in on his movements, Joe has moved west from Ghana and is now in eastern Côte d'Ivoire, approximately 154 km (95 miles) north-east of the capital Yamoussoukro. 

Remarkably, he is currently less than 30 km (18 miles) from his cohort companion Cuckoo Cleeve!  

In the last couple of weeks, since arriving in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Hafren has moved slowly north up the Sassandra River, and is now close to Mont Sângbé National Park, a designated area which is home to a range of wildlife including Western Chimpanzee, African Bush Elephant, Royal Antelope and birds such as Baumann's Olive Greenbul and Emerald Starling.

Having moved from Gabon into the Republic of the Congo in mid-February, Hafren has now made significant headway. After spending a couple of weeks in an area close to the hunting reserve of Domaine de Chasse de Mboko, he set off in a westerly direction, covering some 2,500 km (1,500 miles).

His signal now places him in Côte d'Ivoire (also known as Ivory Coast). He is just 114 km (70 miles) west of the country’s capital city, Yamoussoukro.