Updates from our Cuckoos

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!