Updates from our Cuckoos

Sometime between 17 March and the early hours of this morning (22 March) Lyster moved 20km (12 miles) SSW. This took him over an arm of the Volta and into Digya National Park, a short movement took place at the same time as Kasper’s jump to Côte d’Ivoire. Both of these Cuckoos moved towards higher rainfall areas, albeit in different directions and for different distances. Lyster’s shorter movement was directly towards where more heavily wooded habitat could be found.

Sometime between the evening of 18 March and the early hours of 21 March, Kasper has moved 500km (304 miles) almost exactly due west into Ivory Coast. He passed Chris and Martin on his way and is now the most westerly Cuckoo. He is 21km (13.5 miles) south-east of the city of Bouaké, the second largest city in Ivory Coast.  He is now just 140km (87 miles) and 185km (115 miles) west of Martin and Chris respectively.

We regret to announce the death of Clement the Cuckoo, last heard from in Cameroon on 25 February. Temperature data transmitted at the time via satellite suggested that he was no longer alive and we must now assume that he will not be returning to Norfolk for the summer. The other four Cuckoos are in The Ivory Coast and Ghana.

It is amazingly fortunate that all five Cuckoos survived as long as they did. Interestingly, the only information we had about a ringed Cuckoo in Africa, prior to this winter, was of a bird of exactly the same age as Clement that was killed by man (presumably for the pot) in Lembe in Cameroon (just 100 miles due north of Clement's last position) on 30th January 1930. Read more about how Clement has helped to advance our knowledge of Cuckoo migration.

Still no transmissions from Clement's tag.

Locations received for Lyster on the 17 March showed that he is still settled on the north-west shore of Lake Volta, Ghana.  

Kasper's last transmission on the 18 March showed that he has remained on the north-west shore of Lake Volta, Ghana.

Chris has joined Martin in Ivory Coast, skipping across the border from his previous position in Ghana. He has moved around 86km (53 miles) north-west and is 10km (6 miles) SE of Tankesse.

On the 18 March Martin remained in Ivory Coast but he has now been joined by Chris, who is around 100km (62 miles) away to the south-east.

 It has now been 23 days since we last heard from Clement, and whilst we are getting concerned about him, this is still not the longest gap that we have had between transmissions from our cuckoos.

 On 14 March at 21.04, Lyster was still on the western shore of Lake Volta, Ghana, and still close to Kasper.