Updates from our Cuckoos

Dudley first arrived in the Congo rainforest on 23 September, choosing a location just within the Democratic Republic of Congo and close to the Congo river. Since then he has remained in the area, moving just once, from north of the river to just south of it and closer to a triburary of the Congo river. 

By 30 November, Chester was on the move again, having spent roughly 14 days in his previous location in Nigeria he then headed south-east to a location close to the border of Cameroon. From here he has travelled 640km (400 miles) to Gabon, and finally arrived in the Congo rainforest area on 2 December. he is the last of all the tagged Cuckoos to arrive there.  In 2013, BB was the last of the Cuckoos to arrive in the rainforest, arrving on 7 December. 

Signals on 22 November show BB has moved a little further south-east and is now close to the border with Congo.

BB has travelled south and is now in the Congo rainforest. He has moved over 840km (520 miles) from his last location in Chad and is now in the south-east of Cameroon.  Despite being so much later than many of our other Cuckoos, he is in fact earlier than last year, when he moved to the rainforest on 9 December, travelling slightly further south and into Congo itself. 

Chester has continued on east from Ghana, over Togo and Benin, to make it to Nigeria by the morning of the 16 November. He is now close to Lokoja, a city which lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, and is moving closer to the Congo rainforest in which all our other active tagged Cuckoos are in.

Early yesterday evening we received signals from Chester's tag to show that he had moved further east and south, leaving Ivory Coast and crossing over into Ghana. He is now close to Lake Volta, an area we have seen the Cuckoos use before, although previously this is normally on their spring migration as they head north to return to the UK. 

Yesterday evening and early this morning we received signals from Fred's tag showing that he was on the move and was finally travelling south towards the Congo rainforest. The last location received shows he stopped in Cameroon, having travelled 1030km (640 miles).

Jake has left Cameroon and made it to the Congo rainforest in Democratic Republic of Congo a further 1650km (1020 miles) south-east. He is now in the swamp forests close to Lake Tumba. 

Chris is once again in Congo in the swamp forests in which he has spent previous winters. He made the journey over the 15 and 16 October to reach the Central African Republic, continuing on to Congo and reaching his current location, close to the Site Lac Tele- Likouala Aux Herbes, on 18 October.  Last year, he left the area at the beginning of December, having only spent one month there, and travelled even further south to reach Angola, where Skinner also spent the winter. Skinner has recently returned to Angola this year and we will have to wait and see whether Chris stays in the swamp forests or once again moves further south to join him. 

By the 12 October Skinner had moved south to Congo and by the 17 he was in Angola, close to the area he spent last winter. He is slightly further east than last year and is just north of the Reserva Especial do Milando. It waits to be seen whether Chris or any of the other Cuckoos will join him here this year.