Updates from our Cuckoos

Another of our new birds is on their journey to Africa. From Chicester Harbour, Sussex, Cuckoo 170432 had reached a location west of Poitiers, France by 17 June and a signal received on the 20 June showed that he hadn't hung around! He was just 80km (50 miles) west of the coast of Sicily!  This makes him the most southerly of the Cuckoos currently. We will have to wait for further signals to see where he made land! 

One of our newly tagged Cuckoos is already off and on their journey south. Having received signals from the Nord-Pas-De-Calais region on 11 June, Cuckoo 170433 was 475km (just under 300 miles) further south near Limoges, in southwest-central France when signals were received on 21 June.

170433 and 170435 are our two newly tagged Cuckoos from Sherwood Forest. They join Selborne, who was tagged in the New Forest area in 2016. 

This Cuckoo is being named shortly by pupils at Thetford Grammar School, who've been helping the BTO with our invertebrate research by taking part in What's Under Your Feet?, our collaborative study with EDF Energy. They invited us to their 'dig' and are kindly helping us to promote the project to other schools by allowing us to video and photograph their efforts and promote the work through social media.   

Carlton has been named by Suffolk Wildlife Trust after Carlton Marshes where he was tagged on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. 

A signal on 21 June shows Selborne heading south, out at sea just off the coast near Bordeaux. Further signals received today show that he continued onwards to the Basque Region in northern Spain. He is currently just 40km (25 miles) south-east of Bilbao. 

Larry has left France. By the afternoon of 22 June had travelled 890km (550 miles). and signals revealed that he was on the island of Punta Križa, off the coast of Croatia. This is several weeks earlier than he visited Croatia last year. In fact, at this time last year, Larry was still at his tagging site before then moving on to Hungary by 24 June and then to Croatia in July, but further south than he is currently. 

Transmissions show that by the evening of the 19 June, Larry was the third of our tagged Cuckoos to have left the UK. Signals revealed he was 85km (50 miles) east of Reims, between the communes of Septsarges and Dannevouxis in the department of Meuse, France. Larry spent around six weeks in the UK before departing.