Updates from our Cuckoos

Wallace was still in Switzerland on 1 September but by early this morning (3 September) he had moved to a location in northern Italy, about 17km (11 miles) west of the south end of Lake Garda and about 10km (6 miles) SE of Brescia. This location is at the northern edge of the Po floodplain, just south of the foothills of the Alps. He is there much later than the other Cuckoos who have used the floodplain to prepare for their desert crossing – the other Cuckoos that have used the Po watershed later in the season have tended to use the foothills rather than the floodplain, so we hope he will be able to find the remaining food he needs to fuel his migration. 

Recent transmissions showed Chance leaving the vicinity of Lake Chad but a series of locations received early on 30 August showed that Chance was moving NW at that time. He stopped 28km (17 miles) SW of Massakory, having moved 91km (56 miles) from his previous position. By Saturday 1 September he had moved another 66km (41 miles) NW to an area at the north-eastern corner of the seasonally flooded extent of Lake Chad, close to his previous position near the lake.

Indy has continued to move SE through the Sahel into areas with higher annual rainfall. On the evening of 31 August, he was still at hid location NE of Zinder in Niger but by early this morning (3 August) he had moved 128km (78 miles) SE. He is now 20km (12 miles) inside Nigeria and is 43km (27 miles) WNW of Nguru. Immediately to his south are Nguru Hadejia wetlands, a Ramsar Site which is very important for migratory waterbirds. 

Locations received once Roy’s tag resumed transmissions today (31 August) show that he has completed his desert crossing. He is in eastern Chad, a few kms from the border with Sudan and about 48km (30 miles) NE of BB. At about 14° N, he is the most northerly of the Cuckoos south of the Saharan. He is in the northern Sahel, where annual rainfall is low, but the bulk falls in July & August at this latitude so the area should be green with plenty of insect food available at the moment. 

Over the past ten days, Lloyd left the Alpine foothills of western Italy for Provence and then left for an area close to the borders of France and Spain, west of Perpignan - apparently confirming that he was taking the western route in to Africa. Locations received on the afternoon of 26 August, however, showed he had returned east to Provence whilst further locations showed that by the afternoon of 28 August he was back in Italy, a few km from the position he held ten days ago! It seems likely that this reverse movement is related to food availability – perhaps Lloyd had difficulty finding suitable foraging areas towards the south-west? It is notable that of the three tracked Cuckoos that have headed to Africa in that direction this autumn, we have not heard from John or Reacher for some time and Lyster is missing in southern Mauritania, possibly having failed to deposit enough fuel for his desert crossing at his stop-over in Catalonia. 

A series of locations received early yesterday (29 August) showed that Roy had indeed initiated his migration two days previously and that he was moving south over eastern Libya – the location on the map shows where he had reached by 1030hrs. This suggests that he had moved SSE through Albania and Greece before crossing over the Mediterranean Sea and into Libya. His tag should resume transmissions tomorrow afternoon, at which time we hope he will have joined the other four Cuckoos that are currently in southern Chad.

We believe that the transmission depicted to the east is incorrect and that Chance remained in the area east of Lake Chad. Further transmissions on 22, 23, 25 and 27 August show him 155km (95 miles) southeast of the Lake, and his previous position.

Chris continued eastwards around 90km (50 miles) from his position on 21 August. He moved to the Guera region of Chad and we have received recent locations this morning indicating he is still there. He is now just 30 miles west of where he was a year ago.

Transmissions show that David has travelled only a small distance within Chad from his previous location on 20 August. He is, however, no longer the most southerly Cuckoo.

Signals received on August 24 and 26 show that BB remains in the same area within Chad, close to the border with Sudan.