We haven’t heard from Cameron’s tag since early October and at the time we were hopeful that he would pop-up again. The battery level had been getting progressively lower during the last month that we have information for; however, the temperature data showed that he was alive. We have to conclude that Cameron’s tag has failed and that we won’t hear from him again.
Updates from our Cuckoos
Read the latest updates from our Cuckoos on their epic migration between the UK and tropical Africa, or track their movements in real-time on our Cuckoo migration map.
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Cameron is lost
14 Feb 2019
Fingers crossed for Cameron
10 Dec 2018
As far as we can tell Cameron was alive when the most recent positions were received in early October, when he had just moved from Nigeria to southern Chad, adjacent to the border with CAR. His battery was very low then and it had been declining gradually over a period of months. We think that something is preventing it from charging well - it could be feathers or dirt. This could ultimately damage his tag's battery but equally, we might see him pop up again if the problem is resolved (rain washing off dirt or feathers moulting).
Still no news from Cameron
19 Nov 2018
We haven't heard from Cameron's tag since 3 October, this is very worrying. The last pieces of information we received showed that he was alive but that the battery charge was low and falling. It could be that he might still pop-up if and when his tag gets a good charge. However, it has been 46 days since we heard from the tag and it might be that the batteries get so degraded that they fail. Only time will tell whether or not we hear from Cameron again.
Cameron is off the radar
18 Oct 2018
We haven't heard from Cameron for the last 15 days but his last two signals on the 3 October show that he was still alive at that time. We are always concerned when we don't hear from our Cuckoos but we have learned that we do 'lose' some of them for varying periods of time, often because they have moved under the canopy of the forest. Fingers crossed this is the case with Cameron and we hear from him soon.
Cameron still settled
27 Sep 2018
Cameron is still settled in Nigeria close to the Lame Burra Game Reserve. He has been in this location for 35 days, moving around an area about 3km x 3km. We last heard from his tag on 26 September.
Cameron settled in Nigeria
23 Aug 2018
Cameron's tag is giving us lots of data that shows he is still settled to the north of the Lame Burra Game Reserve in northern central Nigeria. He has been here for just over twenty days, resting and refuelling after his desert crossing. He is currently 4,566km (2,837 miles) from his New Forest breeding territory, as the crow flies. He has at least another 1,600km (1,000 miles) to go before reaching the Congo basin, the area in which all of our tagged Cuckoos since the start of the project have spent the mid-winter months.
Cameron moves east
01 Aug 2018
Cameron has moved another 550km (340 miles) into Nigeria. He is currently to the north of the Lame Burra Game Reserve in northern central Nigeria.
Cameron has moved south and east
17 Jul 2018
Locations received from Cameron's tag during the early hours of 17 July showed that he was on the move, heading south and east into Nigeria. By breakfast he had reached the Sokoto River and was just south of the town of Kalgo. This will show on his map when it automatically updates.
Cameron in the Sahel
13 Jul 2018
The winds do seem to have helped Cameron across the desert. During the afternoon of 12 July his tag showed that he was in the very southeast corner of Niger, close to the border with Burkina Faso. He is 19km (11 miles) north of the Niger River in an area of acacia forest and on the southern edge of the desert.
Cameron is over the desert
11 Jul 2018
Cameron has begun his desert crossing. A series of locations received from his tag during the evening of 10 July show that he is about a third of the way into the desert and close to the Libyan border. The winds in this part of the desert are currently light and from the northeast, which should help him on his way.
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