As predicted, Sayaan has sprung into action following his lengthy annual break in central Italy. He headed south-east via Naples and skirted across the southern tip of the Italian mainland before crossing approximately 765 km (475 miles) of Mediterranean Sea before coming ashore in north-east Libya. 

From here he flew on across the Sahara, before arriving in a lush region of eastern Chad, close to the borders with Sudan and Central African Republic. 

After a spell in southern Mali, Wingston has now moved 520 km (323 miles) east through Burkina Faso and into south-west Niger. 

His latest signal, received yesterday evening, reveals that he is close to the capital Niamey, not far from the northern border of Benin and the north-west border of Nigeria.

Seemingly one to take his time, Norman is still in Italy. In the past couple of days, he has moved a short way from the peaks of the Alps down into the green agricultural lowlands around Turin, close to the Po River. 

When will he tackle the crossing into North Africa – and which route will he take? 

Last week, we posted that Wingston had left the European mainland and was winging his way toward North Africa. 

He arrived on the Algerian coast, just west of the capital Algiers, before heading south across the Sahara desert. He then crossed Mali and just after 10pm last night he was close the border of Burkina Faso, just north of the Sahel Reserve, a protected area covering 16,000 km2  (9,941 sq mi). In the last five days, he has covered well over 2,500 km (1,553 miles). 

Having spent almost three weeks in the hills above Montpellier, Jim followed fellow-Cuckoo Wingston and headed south along a remarkably similar flightpath. Having crossed the Mediterranean, he arrived in Algeria close to the coastal town of Ténès and proceeded south with determination. 

He crossed the border into Mali, and our last signal shows him to be around 150 km (93 miles) south of the ancient city of Timbuktu, close to Lake Korarou. 

In the last few days, Wilfrid has forged on through Western Sahara, followed the Atlantic coast south through Mauritania and is currently heading inland into eastern Senegal.  

This time last year he was still in Spain, so he is well ahead of where he was on this date in 2024. Will he head to Angola to spend the winter months again?

When we last checked in with Arthur five days ago, he was making substantial progress though Morocco. He is now in north-east Senegal, following the mighty Senegal River along the south-west Mauritanian border. 

With rain and thunderstorms currently moving through this region, it may provide welcome relief after a lengthy desert crossing!

Scottish-tagged Cuckoo Norman, having left France, has headed east into the Italian Alps. His latest signal shows that he is high up in the Gran Paradiso National Park, home to Ibex, Chamois, Golden Eagle, Lammergeier and Wallcreeper.

Will he spend time feeding and resting along the River Po before continuing his journey, or will he crack on and make a swift move south? Watch this space!

Thetford-tagged Frederic appears to be taking it relatively easy, making his way slowly through Spain. Our latest update indicates that he has moved south-west into the Castile and León region and is roughly 100 km (62 miles) north of the capital Madrid. Hopefully he’s finding plenty of food to sustain his long and arduous crossing to North Africa and across the Sahara.  

The first of our tagged birds to reach North Africa, Ashok has ploughed on with zeal, flying across the Sahara and on into Chad, covering over 3,000 km (1,864 miles) in under three days! 

In that time Ashok covered the length of Libya, flew through eastern Niger, and as of 7.26 this morning was in the Sahel region of Chad, having cleared the vast expanse of the Sahara desert.