Updates from our Cuckoos

From Italy, Ash has headed north-east  295km (180 miles) and ticked a new country for our tagged Cuckoos, by stopping in Slovenia. Over the years some of our Cuckoos have gone as far east as this, visiting Slovakia, Austira and and Montenegro, but normally they have come down through Germany rather than through Italy. It will be interesting to see where he heads next! 

By the evening of the 22 June Ash had travelled 280km (175 miles) north-east within Italy to a location close to Bologna.  

Ash has continued south from northern France. By 20 June he had covered 380km (240 miles) and was east of Lyon and by the morning of the 21 June he was 285km (177 miles) further on his journey and was just inside Italy, to the north-west of San Remo, making him our most southerly Cuckoo.  

On the 18 June Stanley had left his breeding grounds and headed south to Rayleigh in Essex. Just 2 days later he had crossed the Channel and was 775km (480 miles) further south in southern France. 

Our newest recruit tagged in Sherwood Forest, 146761,  has left the UK and travelled to France.  On the 17 June he transmitted from the Picardie region and later, on the 18 June, from the Auvergne region 335km (210 miles) further south. 

Vigilamus has been named by staff at RAF Fylingdales. Vigilamus is the station motto meaning "We are watching"  which is apt as RAF Fylingdales monitors the satellites that will be tracking our Cuckoos!

It looks likely that BB, Peter, Skinner, Waller and Whortle have failed to complete their migration this year, or their tags are no longer transmitting, and so we will be moving all of them to the inactive section of the website.

Over the last week we've only received poor quality locations from Fred but there are enough of them in the same location to indicate that he left the UK and has been in northern France since the 10 June. His location will only update on the map once a good quality location has been received.  He is close to the western coast, near to La Roche-sur-Yon, while Ash, who transmitted from France on 16 June, is further north and east.  

The British summer is over for Ash as he has now left the country and made his way to northen France, beginning his migration south to Africa.  He's not the only one to have left as we believe Fred is also in France and has been for a few days.

Freds last location was in Morocco in early May but since then he has travelled across mainland Europe and yesterday arrived back in the UK, at his breeding site in Sherwood Forest. He is the tenth tagged Cuckoo to return this spring.