Updates from our Cuckoos

We had been mildly concerned over the low temperature of Lyster’s tag, at the time we received the one location from south of Paris late on Friday. This, however, gave way to relief yesterday morning when his tag began transmitting again and locations showed he was in Norfolk!  He had moved 530km (330 miles) almost due north since late on Friday.  The sensor data from his tag indicate he was probably actively migrating at the time the Paris location was received.  Since he was last in Algeria (25 April) he has moved approximately 1880km (1170 miles) almost due north in less than 5 days.

We have received no further data from Martin since 9th April, and sadly must now assume that he is dead.

Martin made it as far as Lorca in southern Spain, where we last heard from him. In that last transmission his tag temperature dropped from a normal 30-32 degrees Centigrade to 11.7, a gradual change over the course of a night. While fearing for the worst, we did hope that he might pop up further north. We are now convinced that this is very unlikely, and must announce Martin's demise.

Martin has bequeathed a wealth of knowledge that has improved our understanding of Cuckoo migration. Of our original band of five, Martin was the first to return to Europe. As the only Cuckoo over two years old, he was looking good to be the first bird to return. He may have fallen victim to some severe weather conditions, which the other birds avoided by crossing the Mediterranean a little later.

No further data have been received from Kasper's tag, however we have not given up hope. The last, partial, signal we received from him (11th April) showed a low charge on his tag. It is possible that, like Lyster before him, he is spending some time in Algeria foraging for food before attempting the Mediterranean crossing. His solar-powered tag would therefore not charge up if he is in the undergrowth. We hope that once he has moved on, and his tag has had a chance to charge, we will see Kasper pop up soon.

Chris is still in northern Italy, but is on the move. His last transmission on 29th April came from just outside Milan, around 30 miles north-west of his previous location. We hope that the next set of data, due tomorrow, will show that he has crossed the Alps.

Lyster has travelled an amazing 1350km (800 miles) in two days, leapfrogging Chris to take the lead in the race back to the UK!

Lyster first arrived in Algeria on the 13th April, and data transmissions received on the 25th of April showed he had made a move from the date plantation in the desert northwards into the Atlas mountains. A location received late on the 27th showed that Lyster was in France about 115km (70 miles) south of Paris! He took two days to cross the Mediterranean and make it as far as central France, a journey of just over 800 miles.

We are due to receive further news from Lyster today. Could he be the first tagged Cuckoo to return to the UK?

 No further transmissions have been received from Kasper, who was last heard from in Algeria. We have heard from Lyster, who has remained in Algeria for a number of days after his Sahara crossing, so hopefully Kasper is doing the same and we will hear from him soon.

Despite being the first of our Cuckoos to safely cross the Sahara and the Mediterranean, we have received no further data from Martin since 6th April. There has been some bad weather across the Mediterranean in recent days, proving a challenge for all migratory birds, but we are increasingly concerned. 

 Lyster remains in Algeria, but over the weekend he made a move nearer to the coast. We received further data from him yesterday (23rd April) showing that he is still on the north African coast. If weather conditions are suitable we may find that the next transmission from Lyster sees him safely back on mainland Europe.

We hoped Chris would have made the big jump over the weekend but persistent bad weather has kept him in Italy. We have received lots of data from him, on Saturday and again this morning, so we know that he is making small movements around northern Italy. There is a band of bad weather running directly across Chris' route to Norfolk, hopefully this will clear soon enabling Chris to complete the final leg of his journey. The adverse weather conditions seem to be a major factor in this year's migration, with many migratory species appearing in lower numbers than we might otherwise expect for the end of April. 

Locations received for Lyster early on the 16 April showed that he was 260km (160 miles) NE of his previous position and only 80km (50 miles) from the Tunisian border. He appears to have settled in a date plantation and has not yet finished his desert crossing. Could bad weather be responsible for this early stop? His tag should transmit again tomorrow morning (18 April) and as the wind is due to drop overnight, he may have moved on by then.