Updates from our Cuckoos

Locations received from PJ's tag on 5 March show that he is still in the area of Ivory Coast that he arrived in on 22 February. He is moving around small patches of forest just to the west of Lac de Kossou.

Having been in Cameroon until the late afternoon of 17 February, PJ has since travelled 2020km (1255 miles) and, as of the early hours of the morning of the 22 February, was in Ivory Coast. This large movement has taken just four and a half days! PJ is the second Cuckoo who has made a rapid westerly movement, also moving much further west than we normally see at this time of year. 

PJ has travelled 400km (250 miles) and is now in Cameroon. He is currently north of Boumba Bek National Park and is the most northerly Cuckoo.

PJ has moved north and is currently in the central Congo rainforest close to Tsongo-Pa. He has been there since 8 January but we have received no further signals since then. This is likely because he is beneath the rainforest canopy and the solar panel on his tag is unable to charge the tag batteries very well.

At  the beginning of December PJ made a relatively large movement northwards, travelling 280km (175 miles). He is now in the same area of Angola as four of the other Cuckoos, with just 215km (135 miles) separating the most northerly from the most southerly within Angola. Larry and Bill, who are closest to each other, are separated by only a few miles.

Having skipped into the Republic of Congo on the 18 October, PJ was in the south of the country by the eve of 24 October. Just a few days later on the 27 he had covered a further 495km (310 miles) to reach northern Angola.  He continued on, almost directly south, and by the 2 November was just south of the Cuanza River and the town of Donde.  He joins Larry, 161324 and Bill who are all also in Angola. 

From Nigeria, PJ has continued onwards, heading south to reach a location in Cameroon, some 560km(350 miles) away by lunchtime on 13 October.  Forty eight hours late and he was 400km ( 250 miles) further to the south-east and near to both Nki and Boumba National Parks. 

PJ has left Niger and, by the 11 October, had travelled 690km (430 miles) to Nigeria. He is currently 75km (45 miles) south of Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. We don't yet know where PJ will spend the mid-winter months but he is still around 1,300km (800 miles) from the area in central Congo where quite a few of our birds do.

Although PJ is still in the area he arrived in in southern Niger, he does seem to be moving around a series of creeks and areas with sparse tree cover. There are also small areas of cultivation too, so it may be a good stopover site, if a little drier than most of our Cuckoos choose. Looking at what the other birds are doing, it might not be too long before PJ begins to head east.

Locations receievd from PJ on 19 September show that he is still settled in southern Niger.