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 Cuckoo are in decline:
Our Cuckoo Tracking Project is vital and it wouldn’t be possible without the amazing support from funders and sponsors.
Sponsor a CuckooWe 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.
Each Cuckoo’s tag sends us location data approximately every day, so we can follow them and learn more about their migration.
He may have been the last of our tagged Cuckoos to leave UK shores, but Nick II has made steady progress in recent days.
Since our last update, he has flown a further 700 km (434 miles), crossing the western Pyrenees and into central Spain. He is currently in an area close to the River Tagus, just south-east of Madrid. This puts him well ahead of many of the other Cuckoos!
Sadly, it seems very unlikely that we will hear from Highland Cuckoo MacSporran again.
We are unlikely to ever know what happened to him as there are no clues in the data we received from his tag as to his fate. There were no signs of any issues with his tag until transmissions suddenly stopped mid-transmission cycle. This could be due to a sudden event such as predation, or it could be due to tag failure.
There is a very slim chance of course that he is re-caught alive or that his ring or tags are recovered.
Joe set off across the Mediterranean from Sardinia on Saturday night (13), covering 240 km (150 miles) of open water before arriving in North Africa close to Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia.
From here he carried on southward and commenced his non-stop flight across the Sahara. Our last signal, received yesterday evening (16), saw him some 2,800 km (1,740 miles) from his point of entry on the Tunisian coast. He is now in south-eastern Niger, close to the Nigerian and Chad borders.
Joe was the first our tagged Cuckoos to cross the Sahara last year too – he doesn’t hang about!
You can help keep this important project going by either giving a donation, becoming a Cuckoo sponsor, or gifting a sponsorship to someone else. We greatly appreciate the support the project has received, allowing us to continue to monitor this endangered species.
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