Updates from our Cuckoos

We received a series of locations during the early hours of 9 July that suggest Bowie is in Algeria, North Africa. However, they don't stop there and it seems that he might have set out on his desert crossing. If this is the case, we will know more in a couple of days, it will see him cross the Sahara at its widest point, a journey of around 2,500km (1,500 miles).

A series of locations received around breakfast on 5 July show that Victor is in Spain, the map will show this when it automatically updates. He has flown 620km (385 miles) in just over two days. He is currently south of Fayon and the Ebro River.

Robinson is now in northern Italy, a known stopover site for many of our Cuckoos. This is where they prepare for the crossing of the Sahara; for some the feeding is so good they are able to fly from here all the way non-stop to the southern edge of the desert, a distance of over 3,000km (2,000 miles). Robinson is likely to spend a little while here now.

It seems that the area of farmland that PJ was using might not be giving him what he needs and he has moved back north 56km (35 miles) to the Orient Forest Regional Natural Park just to the east of Troyes.

The children of The Green Zone Bird Club at Sandown School in Kent have been following PJ’s progress closely. One of the children at the school, Che, won a Cuckoo sponsorship in the school fair and decided to share it with his fellow pupils. ‘Where in the world is PJ?’ has been a regular activity where the children learn about geography and migration. One member of the Group, Callum (age 6), has taught everyone how to zoom in and out on PJ’s position on the satellite tracking map – well done, Callum!  

They have all been drawing amazing pictures of PJ to welcome him back to the UK (featured). We have really enjoyed looking at their brilliant drawings in the office and reading the Green Zone Bird Club’s newsletters. Well done to all the children in the Club and to their Outdoor Learning and Forest School Leader, Anne Collins, for all of her hard work and enthusiasm. Keep up the good work children and we hope you continue following PJ's journey as he migrates back to Africa.

Sylvester stayed a week in northern France before flying the length of the country and making it to the foothills of the Pyrenees, close to Arudy on 29 June. The next day he moved north again and then west. He is currently in wooded farmland close to Castaignos-Souslens in southwest France.

Having headed south from Gaillon, north of Paris, Sherwood reached as far south as Riberac, 450km (278 miles) south, before turning northeast and then north and flying another 255km (158 miles). Having flown over 700km (400 miles) he is only 288km (179 miles) from Gaillon. Presumably this u-turn is a response to conditions further south, although the weather looks OK.

Selborne is currently our most southerly Cuckoo. He only stayed four days in western France before he was off again, flying around the western end of the Pyrenees and into Spain. He is 495km (308 miles) southwest of the mountains and in a straight line, 1,200km (746 miles) from the New Forest, Hampshire. Selborne is following the route he has taken in the last two years and is currently just to the south of Salamanca. In 2016 he left Spain on 9 July but lingered until 23 July in 2017, his next stop is on the southern edge of the Sahara in Mali. It will be interesting to see when he leaves this year. 

Two locations received this morning at 05:00 show that Robinson has moved further south and is at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, close to Saint-Maurice. He is now just under 1,000km (600 miles) south and east of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. His new location will show on the map tomorrow when it will be automatically updated.

After spending a couple of weeks around Voves in northern France, Knepp has moved south and west. He is currently in western France close to a block of woodland north of La Ferriere-en-Parthenay, 223km (138 miles) from his northern stopover.

A series of locations received around breakfast on 2 July show that Carlton II has finally left his Suffolk home and headed south. Having made the move he has gone for it. He is on the western outskirts of Bordeaux, 881km (547 miles) southwest of Carlton Marshes. This should show on the map when they automatically update tomorrow morning.