Our concern for Vigilamus seems to have been proved right. We haven't heard from his tag since he arrived back on the North York Moors in Arctic conditions. At the time the outside temperature reached minus 5, not good for a bird that spends most of the time in the tropics. It is a sad end for a bird that has given us so much information. We'd like to thank all of his sponsors and the staff at RAF Fylingdales who helped with his tagging.

A poor quality location recieved from Vigilamus's tag on 23 April showed that he had made it back to Britain and was in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. However, it seems that he didn't stay there long. A very poor location from his tag on 25 April, so poor that it won't show on the map, suggests that he has moved north and is in fact back on the North York Moors. We are concerned about him as there have been several heavy snow showers on the moors with lying snow for short periods of time. The battery charge on his tag is good and we should have received more good quality locations from the tag, but haven't. We have our fingers crossed that he hasn't succumbed to the cold, only time will tell.

Vigilamus is our third Cuckoo to return to England. We haven't received a good signal from his tag yet so his map hasn't updated - but it should in the next day or so.

During the early part of last week, Vigilamus left Spain and crossed the Pyrenees into France, eventually stopping just south of Bordeaux on 11 April. He only stayed here for just over a day, and on 13 April was 300km (189 miles) southeast of Bordaeux and back on the northern edge of the Pyrenees. He crossed into Spain once again during the late evening of the same day and settled briefly on the southern edge of the Mountains just south of Andorra. He is currently still south of the mountains close the large lake called Embalse del Grado. The weather in southwest France last week was appalling, so presumably he headed back to where he knew he could find food.

A location received from Vigilamus's tag during the morning of 30 March showed that he had left Ghana and crossed into Ivory Coast. He didn't hang around, two days later a series of locations showed that he had crossed the Sahara in one non-stop 3,117km (1,937 miles) flight, and was in Algeria on the northern edge of the desert just south of the town of Sidi Boutouchent.

As if that wasn't enough, two days later a couple of poor quality locations showed that he had crossed the Mediterranean and was in western Spain, in the Sierra Del Toro mountains, 515km (320 miles) north west of his last location in Algeria, and he didn't stop here. By the morning of 4 April he had moved another 208km (129 miles) north and was in a wooded area just south of Castejon de Valdejasa, his current location. This is the earliest that one of our tagged Cuckoos has crossed the Sahara, since the project began in 2011.

Locations received from Vigilamus during the early morning of 23 March show that he is still in the general area he arrived in on 9 March.

On the 6 March Vigilamus was in southern Cameroon, presumably preparing for the flight west. Since them he has flown 1,539km (958 miles), through Nigeria, Benin and Togo. He is currently in Ghana, 56km (34 miles) from the border with Ivory Coast. He arrived here during the early morning of 9 March.

Locations received from Vigilamus during the evening of 6 March shiow that he is still in Cameroon but has moved 419km (260 miles) west. He is currently 5km (3 miles) southeast of Mbango.

A location received from Vigilamus on 21 February showed that he had moved north again and crossed the border into Cameroon. He is currently 1.4km (.87 miles) into Cameroon and 101km (63 miles) northwest of his last location in Congo. Could this be the start of his long journey home? 

A location received from Vigilamus during the evening of 16 January showed that he had moved 600km (372 miles) north and west of his location in DRC. He is now in the north-west corner of Congo and close to the border with Gabon, so currently our most northerly Cuckoo. He is also our only Cuckoo that is currently north of the Equator and therefore in the northern hemisphere.

Vigilamus is currently 81km (50 miles) east of Lac Mai, DRC, an area where several Cuckoos have spent the winter previously.

Vigilamus is still in the area of swamp forest that he arrived in during early October. Locations receved from him on 4 November show him to be alive and well.

Vigilamus is the third of our Cuckoos to continue south to the Congo rainforest this year  Having left southern Chad sometime after the 2 October, by the morning of the 4 October he was in northern Republic of Congo, 890km (555 miles) further south. By the 6 he had covered a further 540km (335 miles)  to the Democratic Republic of Congo, just south of Mbandaka, and was in the Congolian Swamp forests that Chris spent the winter in the first two years we tracked him.

Vigilamus has moved 150km (90 miles) south within Chad finally reaching dense forest. He will being looking forward to some rest and foraging after his desert adventure. 

Since lunchtime on the 26 July, Vigilamus has continued south, covering 1640km (1020 miles), from Libya to complete his desert crossing and transmitting from a location in Chad on the evening of the 28 July.  He is the fourth of our tagged Cuckoos to successfully complete the desert crossing this year. 

Two of our Cuckoos, Viator and Vigilamus, tagged in the North Yorkshire Moors, transmitted from Africa on the morning of 26 July. Viator appears to have taken a slightly more easterly route and has travelled to Egypt, a country which only one other Cuckoo, Lloyd tagged in Wales, has ventured to throughout the years we have been tracking Cuckoos. A poor quality signal indicates Viator made the 2100km (1305 miles) leap to Egypt from a location in Greece. 

Vigilamus last transmitted from close to the French/Italian border in southern France on the 21 July, a 2400km  (1490 miles) away from his new location.  

Vigilamus is in southern France. He is currently 145km (90 miles) northwest of Monaco.

Two of the three Cuckoos tagged in the North Yorkshire Moors have left the country. 146756's tag sent low quality transmissions which indicated he was crossing the Channel on 22 June and by 24 June he had travelled 965km (600 miles) to Italy and was west of Venice.  

Vigilamus hadn't made it quite as far and was in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France by 24 June, 620km (390 miles) from his last location in Yorkshire. He appears to be travelling further south again today so he may soon have made it as far as 146756. 

Vigilamus has been named by staff at RAF Fylingdales. Vigilamus is the station motto meaning "We are watching"  which is apt as RAF Fylingdales monitors the satellites that will be tracking our Cuckoos!