Named by the tag’s funder after Cleeve Hill outside Cheltenham.
Tagged : Fri, May 10, 2024 - 05:30
Age when found : Adult
Tagging Location : Cranwich Heath, Thetford Forest, England
Wing Length (mm) : 220
Sex : Male
Cleeve's journey from 10th May 2024 to 28th July 2025
Updates on Cleeve 's movements
Cleeve clings on
Since our last check-in with Cleeve almost three weeks ago, he has remained in eastern Spain. He is currently lingering on the coast near Tarragona, just 65 km (40 miles) west of Barcelona.
From here he could head straight out over the Balearics and on into Algeria, or take a more westerly route for a shorter sea crossing into Morocco?
Cleeve’s in Catalonia
We last heard from Cleeve a couple of days ago, when he was on the Belgian / French border. His signal shows that he has made steady progress since then, covering around 900 km (560 miles) on a flight through France and into north-eastern Spain.
He is currently just west of the Catalonian city of Girona, close to the Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa Natural Park.
Cleeve lingers no longer
By this date last year, Cleeve was already making steady progress and was in northern Spain. However, he has taken his time so far this summer and only left Norfolk on Saturday.
By this morning (7 July) he was on the Belgian / French border in the municipality of Wallonia. If he follows last year’s route he should head into north-eastern Spain in the next few days.
One Show favourite Cleeve returns
With decent weather conditions forecast, we’d anticipated the return of our final three tagged Cuckoos this weekend and so it turned out to be the case! By Sunday afternoon Cleeve was back at Cranwich Heath, where he was tagged in May last year.
Following a similar route to fellow Cuckoo Joe, Cleeve headed from the Bordeaux region up past Angers, making a sea crossing from Caen. Heading straight inland, he flew over central London, and continued on, passing the BTO headquarters in Thetford before arriving at his summer residence on the edge of Thetford Forest.
Cleeve was the bird who gained a little fame after being featured on the BBC’s One Show, when presenter Hannah Stitfall joined BTO staff as they went out to catch and tag Cuckoos in the Brecks. It’s great to have him back, along with our other tagged birds!
Cleeve crosses into France
Cleeve seemed quite settled in the Soria region of north-central Spain over the last few days, preparing for the next leg of his journey north. However, he has now crossed over the French border and is now just 25 km (15 miles) to the west of Bordeaux, close to the Médoc Regional Nature Park.
With good weather conditions forecast, can we expect to see Cleeve back in Suffolk over the weekend?
Cleeve crosses the Med
As anticipated, Cleeve made his way through Morocco, crossed the Mediterranean and entered Spanish airspace just east of Almeria covering around 750 km (466 miles) in a couple of days.
He is now in a remote area in the province of Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha, approximately 100 km (62 miles) north-west of Valencia.
Cleeve makes a move
Like Joe and Sayaan, Cleeve has been in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) preparing for his northbound migration for the last couple of weeks, and like his Cuckoo congeners, he has now commenced his northward migration.
Covering approximately 2,900 km (1,800 miles) in recent days he has flown up through Burkina Faso, passing over Timbuktu as he crossed Mali, continued through western Algeria, and is currently on the eastern flank of the Middle Atlas mountains in Morocco. Next stop, Europe!
Cleeve closes in on Joe
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!
Cleeve closes in on Joe
Cleeve has made his way from Republic of the Congo, across the Gulf of Guinea, covering 2,200 km (1,367 miles).
He is now in eastern Côte d'Ivoire, hot on the heels of Cuckoo Joe!
Cleeve creeps north
Since our last update in mid February, Cleeve has moved slowly northwards. Still in the Republic of the Congo, he is now in the north-west of the country, around 530 km (330 miles) north from his main wintering area.
Close to the northern border of Gabon, he is currently just west of Odzala-Kokoua National Park, one of Africa’s oldest national parks and home to Forest Elephant and Western Lowland Gorilla.
Cleeve clings on
Cleeve has spent the last few weeks in a heavily forested region in the southern part of the Republic of the Congo.
He is just west of the Lefini Reserve, a protected area which is home to an array of wildlife including Western Lowland Gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants and more than 260 bird species.
Cleeve makes a minor move
Cleeve is still in north-east Spain, having flown just over 100 km (62 miles) from his last location just south of Andorra.
He is currently in Huesca province in the Pre-Pyrenees, approximately 40 km (24 miles) north of the city of Lleida.
Catalonia for Cleeve
Cleeve seems to be wasting little time, and since our last update just four days ago, he has flown a remarkable 975 km, (605 miles) from northern France down to the Pyrenees.
He is now just over the border into Spain, approximately 18 km (11 miles) south-east of Andorra, and close to Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, in the north of Catalonia.
Cleeve leaves the UK
Over the weekend, Cleeve left the Cranwich Heath area in Norfolk, and headed south.
A 306 km (190 miles) overnight flight took him to the Essex coast, where he then continued across the Channel to Dunkirk. From here he flew south-east, into northern France and is currently just to the east of the city of Arras.
Cleeve was filmed by a BBC TV crew when tagged on 10 May 2024, and was the star, alongside Hannah Stitfall, of a One Show feature about the BTO Cuckoo project!