Updates from our Cuckoos

PJ appears to have flown 375 km (232 miles) north from his last location in the south of the Republic of Congo over the border into Gabon. He is now in south eastern Gabon, approximately 50km north of the town of Lekoni. It is a little surprising to see PJ moving further away from his traditional wintering area in Angola so it'll be interesting to see where he moves to next. 

PJ has left Equatorial Guinea and moved to southern Republic of the Congo, close to the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is now only 400km (248 miles) away from his wintering area in Angola, a mere stone's throw for a Cuckoo. He arrived there on 21st November last year and stayed until 17 January, so we should see him making his last southerly movement soon. 

A journey of 768 km (478 miles) south east from Cameroon has taken PJ into the north western part of the Republic of the Congo. He is in the forest to the east of the city of Kelle. His final destination in previous years has been northern Angola, this will require him to fly a further 900 km south. Victor II is also in Congo, approximately 85 km south of PJ. 

New updates received yesterday evening show that PJ has flown 681 km (423 miles) south east from his last location in Nigeria over the border into Cameroon. He knows this part of Cameroon well having made several stops here both on his southwards and northwards migrations in previous years. He may next visit Republic of Congo on his way to Angola. 

Over the last few days PJ has flown 340 km (211 miles) south from northern Nigeria where he has been since 13 August, to his new location in the western part of Kaduna state. He is just east of the man-made Shiroro Reservoir which was created in 1984 by damming the Kaduna River. He usually stops south of Abuja which is another 120 km south east of his current location. The next country on his list is likely to be Cameroon. 

A new update from PJ's tag this morning show that he has flown 390 Km (243 miles) south east and over the border from Niger into Nigeria. He is now in north west Nigeria, approximately 195 Km (121 miles) east of JAC and 200 Km (195miles) north west of Calypso. Ellis and AJ are also currently in Nigeria.

Since our last update PJ has flown a further 1,022 Km (635 miles) south, passing through the highlands of the Hoggar mountains in southern Algeria and crossing into Mali. By 03:55 this morning he had reached south east Mali and was just outside the Ansongo Giraffe Reserve (réserve partielle de faune d'Ansongo Ménaka), a 1,750,000 hectare protected area designated in 1950 to try to conserve the last remaining Giraffes in this part of Africa. Unfortunately the Giraffes have disappeared but it remains a special area for wildlife and people.  

On his sixth tracked migration south, our super Cuckoo PJ has made it to Africa. On Saturday morning he had flown 315 km (195 miles) south from the Spanish Pyrenees to the town of Barracas, Castellón, Spain. By yesterday morning he had flown 1,150 Km (715 miles) south, across the Mediterranean and into Algeria. He pressed on through the day and by the time we received the last update at 22:27 last night, he was in the Hoggar mountains in the central Sahara, southern Algeria. He was 218 Km (135 miles) north of the oasis city of Tamanrasset, where citrus fruits, apricots, dates, almonds, cereals, corn, and figs are grown. Hopefully when we receive the next update we will see that PJ has successfully completed his desert crossing. 

A new update received early this morning shows that PJ has flown 215Km (134 miles) north east into the Spanish Pyrenees. He is now approximately 10Km north east of the town of Isaba in the Navarre region of northern Spain. He is currently in the foothills of Mesa de los Tres Reyes (the table of the three kings) which is the highest point in Spanish Navarre at 2,428m (7,966ft). PJ made a very similar north-easterly movement between 25-30 July last year. 

PJ has flown a total of 103Km (64 miles) north and is now 27Km (17 miles) east of Burgos, close to the Úzquiza and Arlanzon reservoirs in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. We know from his movements in previous years that PJ is not afraid of doubling back on himself while on migration, probably in search of better foraging areas.