Updates from our Cuckoos

It looks likely that either Ken has perished in Ivory Coast or the tag is no longer attached. The tag temperature is now fluctuating with the day and night time temperatures, rather than remaining consistant with body temperature as it should. It looks like we will not be following Ken across the desert and back to the UK. 

Ken had moved 100km (600 miles) by the 14 March and was just inside Ivory Coast. Waller and Derek are also in Ivory Coast, but further to the west.  

Ken has moved a further 380km (235 miles) north-west within Nigeria but is some way behind Derek, the third Cuckoo to move in to West Africa, who is now in Ghana.  

Ken has moved 200km (120 miles) from his last position in Cameroon and into Nigeria over the weekend. He is now officially in West Africa and is the second Cuckoo to move this far west this year.  

Ken is still close to Mount Cameroon, the area he arrived in on 13 February. As he is currently our most westerly Cuckoo, will he be the first to head into West Africa?

On 1st February, the last time we heard from Ken, he was in South East Gabon, close to the border with Congo and one of our most southerly Cuckoos. As of mid-afternoon on 13 February he became our most northerly bird, having moved 812km (504 miles) north-west. He is now just north of Mount Cameroon in south-west Cameroon, having just completed his first leg back to the UK.

Ken has moved directly north within Gabon, heading towards Patch's current location. He has travelled around 110km (67 miles) which means that only 12km (8 miles) separates him and Patch now. 

Ken is still in the same area in Gabon, on the edge of the Téké plateau, that he has frequented since the 25 October. His tag last transmitted from there on 13 January.

The latest transmissions from Ken's tag show that he remains in Gabon, having arrived here on 25 October, and it's likely he will spend Christmas here.

This is also the last country from which we received a transmission from Scottish Cuckoo, Chance, in early December.  We haven't heard from him since but, there could be a number of reasons for this, including the fact that the dense cover of vegetation could be stopping the solar-powered tag from receiving enough light to charge up and transmit a signal.

Interestingly, Tor, one of our Devon Cuckoos also last transmitted from this area at the end of November, although from slightly further south within Congo, and his tag has also yet to beam another signal to us. Many of our Cuckoos have had periods where they have 'dissapeared' for a period of time before reappearing, often having moved quite substantial distances as part of their migration, having spent time feeding up beforehand. We will have to wait and see whether further transmissions reveal more information.  

Up until 20 October, Ken remained in the same area in Central African Republic he had been in since the 25 September but signals received on the 22 October revealed he was on the move. Throughout that evening and the early morning hours of 23 October he headed in a south-westerly direction and by the morning of 25 October he has arrived in eastern Gabon, having covered almost 930km (580 miles) and joining our more southerly Cuckoos in the others in the depths of the Congo rainforest.