Updates from our Cuckoos

On the 19 October, Markoo was still in Nigeria but over the last week or so he has moved south. By the 20 October he was in Cameroon, by the 22 he was transmitting from eastern Gabon and on 24 October signals were received from the Republic of Congo, just south of Kelle.  He is now in the Congo rainforest and we will have to wait to see whether he stays here or moves further south still. We currently have three Cuckoos in Angola, 700km (435 miles) sosuth of Markoo's location.

By the 25 October Bill had left his last location in Nigeria and was on the move, heading in a south-easterly direction and passing to the east of Onitsha. Signals on the 26 revealed he had continued onwards, leaving Nigeria, and had made it all the way to Gabon. He is now to the south of Lvindo National Park. Since leaving Nigeria, Bill has flown 1,000km (622 miles) to reach his current location. It is likely that he will move a little further south yet.

Sadly it looks like our last Cuckoo to make his crossing may have left it too late and we think Jack may have died. Recent locations show him in the same place as on 9 October. Looking more closely at the last signals received it seems that Jack actually stopped 200km NW of his final (current) location, for a day at least, before moving on.

The movement that might have ended abruptly was actually an onward movement after his first post-desert stop. If he has died, it's a good illustration of the cost of leaving the desert crossing so late - 2 months ago the area would have been very good for him, teeming with insects. But now it is drying out, as evidenced by the other cuckoos all having moved south.

From Nigeria, PJ has continued onwards, heading south to reach a location in Cameroon, some 560km(350 miles) away by lunchtime on 13 October.  Forty eight hours late and he was 400km ( 250 miles) further to the south-east and near to both Nki and Boumba National Parks. 

From Central African Republic, David has travelled south, moving to the Democratic Republic of Congo by 14 October. He is in the Parc National de la Salonga-Nord, an area he has visited in previous years.  

PJ has left Niger and, by the 11 October, had travelled 690km (430 miles) to Nigeria. He is currently 75km (45 miles) south of Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. We don't yet know where PJ will spend the mid-winter months but he is still around 1,300km (800 miles) from the area in central Congo where quite a few of our birds do.

Bill the Cuckoo was named by BBC’s the One Show in honour of comedian, musician, actor, TV and radio presenter and author Bill Bailey, to coincide with the publication of his new book Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to British Birds. The book draws on his lifelong love of birds and birdwatching.

Jack hasn't been in a hurry heading south but, by the 4th October, he had finally left Europe and his last position in the toe of Italy and embarked upon his desert crossing!  Signals received during the 4 October showed him travelling across Libya.  

Since then poor quality signals show him making his way south through Chad on the 6 October before stopping north of Ati Airport. Signals received today show that he hasn't moved on from this spot which is a little worrying due to the poor habitat he looks to be in. We would have expected him to continue a little further south, where conditions would be much improved, to recover from his journey. 

From his last location in Nigeria 161321 has headed off in a south-easterly direction, travelling around 965km ( 600 miles) to reach Equatorial Guinea by the 5 October. He didn't spend long here though and by the 8 October he had covered a further 450km (280 miles) to a location in Gabon, near it's southern border with Congo. 

Although PJ is still in the area he arrived in in southern Niger, he does seem to be moving around a series of creeks and areas with sparse tree cover. There are also small areas of cultivation too, so it may be a good stopover site, if a little drier than most of our Cuckoos choose. Looking at what the other birds are doing, it might not be too long before PJ begins to head east.