Updates from our Cuckoos

Our concern for Vigilamus seems to have been proved right. We haven't heard from his tag since he arrived back on the North York Moors in Arctic conditions. At the time the outside temperature reached minus 5, not good for a bird that spends most of the time in the tropics. It is a sad end for a bird that has given us so much information. We'd like to thank all of his sponsors and the staff at RAF Fylingdales who helped with his tagging.

Peckham seems to have settled in Cumbria, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. He is currently 8km (5 miles) east of Kendal.

Larry arrived back in England during the evening of 2 May, when a signal received from his tag placed him in the dunes at Burnham Overy Staithe. Only time will tell how long he stays here as he will be keen to get back to the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, and begin the task of finding and chasing female Cuckoos.

David is back at Tregaron! A series if signals received during the early morning of 3 May show that David is back at his tagging site, completing four whole migration cycles since he was fitted with his tag and equalling the amazing feat of Chris the Cuckoo, whilst providing a huge amount of information on Welsh Cuckoos.The signals were received too early for the map to update but this will happen on 4 May.

A host of signals received from Coo's tag aroung breakfast time on 1 May showed that he was back at RAF Fylingdales, completing a round journey of almost 15,000km (9,500 miles). Since his arrival he has been flying all over the RAF Fylingdales area, presumably in search of female Cuckoos.

A signal received from Coo's tag early this morning showed that he had travelled a further 260 miles from his last location in France. He has now crossed the channel and is near Battle in East Sussex. The next map update should show us whether he is hanging around in East Sussex or pushing straight on back to the North York Moors.

In the last 24 hours Peckham has completed the last leg of his spring migration – travelling the final 170 miles from Gloucestershire to the Yorkshire Dales. He is now back at his breeding grounds, just east of Kendal and on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. In 2015 he started his autumn migration on 30th June, so we expect him to stay at his current location for the next two months. 

A poor quality location recieved from Vigilamus's tag on 23 April showed that he had made it back to Britain and was in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. However, it seems that he didn't stay there long. A very poor location from his tag on 25 April, so poor that it won't show on the map, suggests that he has moved north and is in fact back on the North York Moors. We are concerned about him as there have been several heavy snow showers on the moors with lying snow for short periods of time. The battery charge on his tag is good and we should have received more good quality locations from the tag, but haven't. We have our fingers crossed that he hasn't succumbed to the cold, only time will tell.

Since arriving back Stanley has been frequenting his old haunts around the Cranwich Heath area. He has also visited Lakenheath Fen on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, something he did a few times in 2015. We expect him to stay in his breeding area for a couple of months. In 2014 he left Norfolk on 25 June, and in 2015 on 17 June.

Vigilamus is our third Cuckoo to return to England. We haven't received a good signal from his tag yet so his map hasn't updated - but it should in the next day or so.