Updates from our Cuckoos

Livingstone arrived in Africa on time this year, in fact a few days earlier than last year when he arrived on 31 July. This time he transmitted from Libya on 27 July before heading south through Niger and then heading east into Chad, in a very similar fashion to last year. 

We are still following twenty-two birds. Currently two cuckoos are in France – Walpole and unnamed cuckoo 134957.

Five birds are in and around the Po Valley in northern Italy – BB, Chris, Stanley, Waller and Livingstone.

Six birds are in Spain – Two of these are big movers this week. After finally leaving the UK, Derek hasn’t hung around. After a brief stop in central-western France, he is now in central-northern Spain, just south of Tolbanos de Abajo. It is Maji that has provided the biggest surprise though. He seems to be taking a tour of the European mountain ranges. Having spent a time in the Austrian Alps, he is now in the central Pyrenees!

David is still in Montenegro and Ash is still in Croatia; both of these birds could make the move to Africa any day now.

We now have seven birds in Africa, six of them south of the Sahara. Emsworthy is the latest to arrive here and he is currently just south of Lake Chad, in an area that Chris also favours. Three other Cuckoos – Peter, Hennah and Dudley – are also close to Lake Chad.

BB has left Germany and flown over Austria to reach Italy and is close to Venice.  He joins East Anglian Cuckoos Stanley and Chris, and fellow Scottish Cuckos Livingstone and Waller, all of whom are in different areas of northern Italy.

From France, via Corsica, Ash appears to now be in Italy. He joins Hennah, who had also been in France and perched in the Pyrenees close to the France/Spain border but who also recently changed direction and headed to Italy to take this more easterly route. Whortle, Peter, Waller, and Livingstone are all also currently in Italy. 

With three un-named birds left we are letting you choose what to name one of our Sherwood Cuckoos!  Anyone who sponsors a Cuckoo before the end of June will be entered in to a draw. We’ll then pick one entry at random and will contact the winner who can then suggest a suitable name*. Find out how you could name a Cuckoo. 

Emsworthy has travelled over the border from France to join Whortle, Livingstone and Peter in Italy. Livingstone and Peter are in the Po Valley, an area that the project has shown to be important to many of our Cuckoos,  while Whortle and Emsworthy are currently close to the valley edge. 

Emsworthy's move this year, from France along and into Italy, looks remarkably similiar to Whortle's movement last year, just before he suprised us by retreating back to France and then down through Spain to Africa.  This year Whortle has headed straight to Italy and not stopped in France as far as we can tell. Will he head through Spain as last year or make the flight to Africa directly from Italy? Which route will fellow Devon Cuckoo Emsworthy take? 

By the early hours of 3 May Livingstone had made it to Brittany, France. Approximately 30 hours later and he was flying over Wales, leaving land close to Colwyn Bay and cutting across the Irish Sea and travelling north to the Isle of Lismore. A further 50 miles travelling northwards and he had returned to his tagging grounds, in the smaller lochs south of Locah Carron. 

Both Waller and Livingstone returned to Scotland from western France but took surprisingly different routes to return, with Livingstone sticking to Wales and the west while Waller headed east to Berwickshire and then cut back across to western Scotland. We are delighted to welcome back two more Cuckoos! 

By the 26 April Livingstone had left Algeria and made it to Spain and was in the region of Zaragoza. From here, he then travelled 200km (130 miles) north-west and was south of Soria by 30 April.

Around lunch time on 16 April Livingstone left Ivory Coast and began his long journey north. On the evening of the 16 April he stopped for a couple of hours in the southern Sahara before continuing on northward. By 5pm on the 19 April he successfully completed the desert crossing and was in Algeria just south of Beni Rached, 3,052 km (1,896 miles) north-west of his position in Ivory Coast. He is now well positioned for the crossing of the Mediterranean, something he could do any day now!