Updates from our Cuckoos

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.

Hafren has made a significant move in recent days. Having spent much of his winter in eastern Gabon, he has now flown some 160 km (100 miles) north-east into Republic of the Congo. Is this the start of his northbound spring migration?

Hafren, took a rather leisurely western route through Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and on through Burkina Faso and into central Nigeria.

In recent days he has suddenly headed a further 1,500 km (932 miles) south-east into central Gabon.

He is currently in the Ivindo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is home to a large number of endangered species including Forest Elephant, Western Lowland Gorilla, Chimpanzee and a multitude of birds such as Grey Parrot and Grey-necked Rockfowl.

Since crossing into Nigeria from Benin a week ago, Hafren made a move towards the lush shores of the Niger River.  

Currently just north-east of Kainji Lake, he is following a section of the Sokoto, a tributary of the Niger, heading eastwards into the country.

For much of the last month, Hafren has been in Burkina Faso, but in recent days he has made a significant move to the east.

Since leaving Burkina Faso just two days ago, he has passed through northern Ghana, then Togo, and as of this morning he is in the Borgou Department of northern Benin. Our satellite signal currently shows him to be close to a stretch of the Bouli River, a few miles west of the Trois Rivières forest reserve.

Hafren left Senegal and headed east across south-west Mali, into Burkina Faso.

He is now in an agricultural area between the Mouhoun, or Black Volta, River and the Kaboré Tambi National Park. This protected area was formerly known as Pô National Park and was renamed in honour of a park ranger who was tragically killed by poachers in 1991.

Hafren, like Cuckoo Wilfrid, is still in Senegal, but has moved slowly southwards in recent days.

He is currently by the River Gambia, just to the west of the Forêt de Diambour, in the Tambacounda region.

Amazingly, Hafren and Wilfrid are just around 40km (24 miles) apart from one another.

Five days ago we could see that Hafren was approaching the border of Western Sahara from Morocco.

Since then, he continued his journey south, covering a further 1,660 km (1,030 miles).

He then made his way along the coast of western Mauritania and our most recent signal, received at 6.24am today, shows that he has now headed inland, and is in central Senegal, having spent some time in the relatively lush environs of the Sylvo-Pastorale National Park.   

Hafren has now left Spain and is making his way south along the North African coast.

His route saw him setting off across the sea, leaving the Spanish mainland west of the famous Doñana National Park, before arriving on the Moroccan coast just to the north of the city of Agadir.

At 7.36 this morning, we received a signal showing that he was close to the Western Sahara border. In the last 48 hours Hafren has covered around 1,220 km (758 miles).