We are relieved to report that since our last update Victor II has flown 1,255km (780 miles) north, taking him from Mali to north east Morocco, completing his desert crossing. When we last heard from him he was 45km (28 miles) south west of city of Nador. Will he linger in north Africa or press on to Europe?
Updates from our Cuckoos
Read the latest updates from our Cuckoos on their epic migration between the UK and tropical Africa, or track their movements in real-time on our Cuckoo migration map.
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Victor II has completed his desert crossing
13 Apr 2023
Ellis arrives in Europe
13 Apr 2023
After a longer journey through Western Sahara and Morocco than we had expected, Ellis is on the move again and by 10am yesterday morning (Wednesday 12 April) he had flown 795km (494 miles) out of Africa and into Los Alcornocales Natural Park in Andalusia, southern Spain. A single update received just after 8am this morning (Thursday 13 April) suggest that Ellis has continued north east and is near Gibralgalia in Malaga.
Joe moves east
11 Apr 2023
Since arriving in the south of France Joe has relocated slightly east and is now close to the town of Manciet in the Gers department of southern France.
Ellis progresses north in Morocco
11 Apr 2023
Ellis has flown 161km (100 miles) north within Morocco and is now 40km (25 miles) north east of the town of Sidi Ifni Province, Guelmim-Oued Noun, Morocco. Last year Ellis only stopped briefly in northern Morocco before pressing on to Spain on 31 March so he is spending much longer exploring Morocco this year.
Victor II is crossing the Sahara
10 Apr 2023
New updates received from Victor II's tag early yesterday morning showed that he had set off on his desert crossing. At around 5am he was flying over east central Mauritania and by mid morning he was in north western Mali. By that time he had covered 1,830km (1,137 miles) and was 125km (78 miles) north west of the remote salt mining centre Taoudenni. This means he is in the hottest region and one of the driest regions on the planet where the average temperature is over 40 degrees C (104F) and average rainfall is between 1 and 2 cm per year. Clearly not a place Victor II will want to linger in. Last year he turned up in northern Spain on 15 April so hopefully when we next hear fom him he will have completed his crossing and be in north Africa or even Europe.
Joe has reached France
08 Apr 2023
When we last updated you Joe was on his way across the Sahara desert and by Thursday evening had reached southern Algeria. New updates received this morning (Sat 8 April) show that he has powered on across the desert, across the Mediterranean, over Spain and on to southern France! This means that since leaving Ivory Coast he has covered approximately 4,000km (2,485 miles). By 11am this morning he was close to the town of Tartas in Nouvelle-Aquitiaine in southwestern France. Will Joe now hold the lead and be the first of our tagged Cuckoos to reach the UK? Stay tuned to find out.
Joe is crossing the Sahara
06 Apr 2023
Having been in Ivory Coast since 2 March, Joe has decided that the time has come to across the Sahara. New updates received from his tag yesterday show that he has flown 1,777km (1,105 miles) north over Burkina Faso and Mali and on to Algeria. By 9pm last night (6 April) he was in the desert in southern Algeria. He needs to fly approximately 1,300km to clear the desert in northern Algeria.
Ellis crosses into Morocco
05 Apr 2023
Since our last update Ellis has flown 292km (181 miles) north east from his last location in Western Sahara, taking him over the border into southern Morocco. He is now 95km (60 miles) east of the city of Tan-Tan and 36km (22 miles) north west of the town of Labouriat. He has stopped in an area just south of the Draa River, Morocco's longest river. This area is designated as an Important Bird Area following a survey in 1999 which recorded the presence of the near-threatened Marbled Teal and larger numbers of Ruddy Shelduck as well as 35 breeding species. Hopefully Ellis is finding some food and shelter here to sustain him and we'll see him moving north again soon.
Ellis approaching Morccco
02 Apr 2023
Since our last update Ellis has flown a further 382km (237 miles) north through Western Sahara. A new update received at 7am this morning showed him close to the small town of Daoura, and approximately 44km (27 miles) north of the Western Sahara capital city Laayoune. He appears to be close to an intermittent river which has some bushes and shrubs along its length so hopefully he is finding some food here to sustain his onwards journey north over the border into Morocco.
Ellis is crossing the Sahara
31 Mar 2023
Perthshire Cuckoo Ellis is following hot on the heels of Llangollen Cuckoo JAC and embarked on his desert crossing. Having departed his stop over in Guinea, by 11pm last night (30 March) he was passing 120km west of the Eye of Africa in west central Mauritania. He has since flown a further 412km, heading in a north westerly direction towards the coast of central Western Sahara. At 06:38 this morning he was still crossing the desert and was approximately 155km north east of the town of Dakhla in Western Sahara. He seems to have been pushed east by fairly strong easterly winds over the last 24 hours or so. These winds should be easing as he progresses into northern Western Sahara. Last year after crossing the desert he stopped in Morocco, north of Marrakesh, 1,000km north of his current location. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that when we next hear from Ellis he will have completed his desert crossing.
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