Updates from our Cuckoos

Our longest-surviving tagged Cuckoo PJ is leading the pack back to the UK this year. Over the last few days he has covered 1,392 km (865 miles), flying west from Cameroon into west Africa. By 17:21 on Wednesday evening he had arrived in Togo, but he didn't stay long and by 22:17 that night he had continued over the border into Ghana. He is currently in eastern Ghana but based on his behaviour in previous years, we don't expect him to stay here for long. His destination is likely to be Ivory Coast, which is another 725 km (450 miles) further west and he usually arrives there by early March. He usually spends most of March in Ivory Coast before heading north across the Sahara.

Since our last update PJ has flown a further 890 km (552 Miles) north from his last location in Gabon to his current location in Cameroon. He is now in an area of Guinean Savanna, near the Meng river in the south of the Adamawa region of Cameroon. He was in this same area between 3rd and 25th February 2020. In 2020 his next movement took him to Togo on his way to Ivory Coast. Over the next couple of weeks we expect PJ to cover the 2,000km (1,240 miles) journey west to Ivory Coast where he usually stops off to build up his fat reserves ready for crossing the Sahara.

Over the last few weeks PJ has flown 640 km (398 miles) north from north-western Angola, first to the Teke Plateau in Congo and, soon after, over the border into eastern Gabon. In previous years PJ has remained in Angola until late January before beginning his northward migration so he is right on track. He has usually reached Ivory Coast in west Africa by early March so we expect him to keep moving north and then west over the next 2-3 weeks. He will then stop over for a few weeks before tackling the Sahara.

Over the last couple of weeks, PJ has gradually moved 167 km (104 miles) north into the Zaire district of north-western Angola. He is now in dense rainforest 56 km (35 miles) N-NE of the town of N'Zeto. In previous years PJ has remained in Angola until late January.  

After a visit to the shores of the Rio del Rey estuary in western Cameroon, new signals from PJ's tag show that by yesterday evening he had flown 725 km (450 miles) south east into eastern Gabon. In previous years he has wintered in northern Angola and if this is his destination this year, he has a further 970 km (600 miles) to go before he reaches this area.  

Further updates received late yesterday afternoon and evening show that PJ has flown 653 km (406 miles) south east from his last location in Nigeria, over the border into Cameroon. He is now approximately 19 km (12 miles) west of the town of Tibati which is on the shore of Lake Mbakaou in central Cameroon. 

Having spent almost two months in southern Niger, it is good to see PJ on the move again. Over the past few days he has flown 622 km (387 miles) south into Nigeria. He is now 50 km (30 miles) west of the capital Abuja and only 93 km (58 miles) west of Carlton II who is east of Abuja. We expect PJ to follow a similar route south to Valentine, passing through or over Cameroon and on to his wintering grounds in northern Angola. His wintering areas in previous years have been to the east of Valentine's, nearer the coastal city of Luanda.

Over the last few days PJ has flown 244 km (151 miles) east within southern Niger. He is now around 50 km north of the border with Nigeria and 67 km south east of the city of Tahoua. He visited the same location during his southern migration in 2017. Based on his behaviour in previous years his route to his wintering grounds in Angola are likely to take him through Nigeria and Cameroon. 

Updates received at around 06:00 this morning, show that PJ has flown a further 570 km (354 miles) south-south west from the norther border of Niger into the south western corner of Niger, completing his crossing of the Sahara. He is now approximately 165 km (102 miles) north east of the capital Niamey. PJ has arrived here in the rainy season with most of the annual rainfall expected between May and mid-September. It'll be interesting to see whether he stays here or follows Valentine in moving further east. 

Over the last few days, Suffolk Cuckoo PJ has made his move south, braving the mighty Sahara. On the first leg of his journey he left southern Italy and crossed the Mediterranean just to the west of Corsica and Sardinia. He flew over Tunisia and by 16:30 on Saturday he was in or over the Tassili n'Ajjer national park in south-east Algeria, a distance of 2,163 km (1,344 miles) from his last location in Italy. He doesn't appear to have stopped here as by 19:45 on the same day he was near the southern edge of the desert. He didn't hang around as by 20:03 last night he was a further 518 km (322 miles) south and approaching the border between Algeria and Niger. The last update received at 22:43 last night showed PJ just over the border in north western Niger, approximately 30 miles (50 km) west of the small desert town of Assamakka. PJ passed close to this location on his southerly migration in 2017 but quickly moved on to southern Niger. In previous years, PJ has spent time in southern Niger/northern Nigeria so hopefully when we next hear from him he will be a little further south, having completed his desert crossing.