Updates from our Cuckoos

David is still settled in his stopover site in southern Chad.

Since heading back north into Mali 161324 has stayed in the river valley he found. His tag is still sending lots of information and he appears to be alive and well.

Bill has left Mali and headed east, crossing Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo and Benin. He is currently in Nigeria, having arrived here around breakfast on 13 September, and is just north of Jebba on the banks of the River Niger.

I61321 has moved slightly east of his last location and is currently moving around the wooded banks of the Pendjari river.

Since arriving in southern Niger PJ has settled on the edge of a small river valley to the east of the town of Bouza. The habitat in the valley is semi-arid with sparse trees but the river banks are fairly well vegetated, so PJ may be able to use this area as his stopover site before heading south and east into Congo.

Last year Peckham left northern Italy on 30 July and by 9 September was in Chad on the southern edge of the desert, so it is a little worrying that he is still so far north. A look at his tag data suggests that everything is ok, although the battery charge is a little low. Surprisingly, there is a very poor quality location for 6 September that suggests he is in Sicily. We will need better quality locations to confirm this but if it is the case Peckham may well have started his desert crossing - several of our Cuckoos make a direct flight across the desert from northern Italy. Watch this space.

Markoo successfully crossed the desert and is currently in northwest Nigeria. He is on the edge of a small river valley twenty miles northwest of Ranko.

Larry is still settled in the forest in southern Chad, and could be for at least another month or so. It is currently warm, 27 degrees, and wet with a humidity of 75%, perfect for the invertebrates that Larry will be seeking out.

We have lost contact with Disco Tony and at this stage it looks like his tag might have failed. Only time will tell if it bursts into life again. We have 'lost' Cuckoos for up to six weeks, only for their tags to start transmitting again, hopefully this will be the case with Disco Tony's tag.