Updates from our Cuckoos

115602 finally has a name and will now be known as Chance. He has been named after Edgar Chance,  a British ornithologist noted for his pioneering studies on the breeding behaviour of the Common Cuckoo.

Lyster remains in Norfolk and, with 115589's recent movement across the sea to Europe, is the last of our English Cuckoos still in England. Will he be the last to leave again this year? There are still two Scottish birds who also remain in the UK.

Transmissions received on the 24 June indicated that 115589 was crossing the North Sea and a weak signal yesterday gave a position in Belgium. This morning another signal provided evidence that he had travelled across Belgium and south into France. He currently appears to be around 130km (80 miles) from Reims, in the north of France.

Both Wallace and Roy remain in Scotland whilst the three other Scottish birds are currently in Europe. Transmissions received yesterday indicated that Wallace was heading southwards. He moved 30km (20 miles) from his position between Irvine and Troon and was close to the village of Patna. From here he headed off in a south-easterly direction, flying 110km (70miles) before transmitting from Canonbie. He is very close to the Scottish-English border.

By lunchtime on the 20 June, BB was transmitting from Germany, having travelled 410 km (253 miles) from Friesland. He appears to have travelled 110 km (70 miles) east within Germany and, as of yesterday morning, was in the Sachsen-Anhelt region.

115597 has continued on from his position near Paris, heading south 450km (277 miles) south-east and then a further 70 km (45 miles) directly south. He is now 80km (50 miles) north of Marseille and the coast.

Between the 20 and 23 June we received further transmissions showing David was indeed in Germany. He didn't stay there for long though - he continued on his south-easterly trajectory and by the evening of the 25 June he was 680km (422 miles) further on in central Slovakia. He is the first of our Cuckoos to transmit from this country. This is also the furthest east transmission we have received within Europe – his longitude is the same as the most easterly point any of the Cuckoos reached in Africa last winter, which was Chris’ location in southern Chad last autumn.
He currently appears to be in a forested landscape close to Partizanske. We are wondering whether David will head back west towards the stop-over in northern Italy or whether he will use a different stop-over further east, perhaps in or close to the Balkans.
 

Having made it to Germany by 22 June, Reacher has continued to make rapid progress. By the afternoon of 24 June, he had travelled another 520km (320 miles) to a location 26km (16 miles) east of Turin in northern Italy. He is the first of our Cuckoos to reach the Po watershed this year, the area in which three of the five Cuckoos tracked last year prepared for their crossing of the Sahara. This further demonstrates the importance of this area for British Cuckoos – we expect he will stay in that broad area for at least a couple of weeks whilst he fattens prior to continuing his southward migration.

Not only has 115600 finally received a name, chosen from suggestions by Cuckoo Sponsors, he has also continued moving south. From France, the newly christened Mungo moved 230km (143 miles) SSE to the southern most tip of Switzerland between 21 and 23 June. He was still at that position, which is close to the village of Bourg Saint Pierre in an alpine pass approximately 20km (12 miles) east of the summit of Mont Blanc, on the morning of 25 June. Mungo has been named after Mungo Park, the Scottish explorer of the African continent.

Locations received on 22 June proved to be accurate as they showed Chance heading across the North Sea towards Germany. He transmitted later that day from just inside Germany, between Itzehoe and Elmshorn, close to the river river Elbe 44km (27miles) of Hamburg, Germany. Since then he has travelled a further 300km (189 miles) across Germany on a south-easterly trajectory and by lunchtime on the 24 June was settled in a wooded area near Gottsdorf in eastern Germany, 35km (21 miles) SSW of Berlin.