Updates from our Cuckoos

New updates received from PJ's tag between 9am and 11am this morning (27 Feb) show that he has flown 2,134km (1,326 miles) north west from the Congo to Ghana. He is now in north west Ghana, close to the border with Ivory Coast. PJ usually stops off in Ivory Coast for a few weeks before embarking on the next leg of his journey by crossing the Sahara. Last year PJ arrived in Ghana on 27th Feb and moved on to Ivory Coast by 1st March where he stayed until beginning his crossing of the Sahara on 14th April. So we expect PJ to cross over into Ivory Coast and then to stay there until early April.  

It looks as if PJ has begun his migration north, leaving Gabon behind and flying 255km (159 miles) north into the Republic of Congo. He is now in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in northern Congo, first protected in 1935, making it one of Africa's oldest national parks. 440 bird species have been recorded in this park, along with around 100 mammal species including one of Africa's most diverse primate populations. The habitat here is old growth forest, jungle, dry forest, savanna and rainforest.  

New updates received yesterday evenings (13th Feb) show that Ellis has flown 358km (222 miles) north west from Ivory Coast into Guinea. He is now in south eastern Guinea, 9km south east of the town of Banankoro. 

After a brief stop in Ghana, it looks as if Ellis has pressed on into Ivory Coast. Since the last update he has flown 530 km (330 miles) west and is now close to Lake Sassandra in western Ivory Coast. 

Updates received from Ellis' tag early yesterday morning (Jan 31), show that he has flown 1,609 km (1,000 miles) west from Cameroon to Ghana. This means he is the first of our tagged Cuckoos to move into west Africa this year. He is now approximately 40 km north west of the town of Tarkwa in western Ghana. 

New updates received from JAC's tag last night show that he has flown 195km (121 miles) north west from DRC, over the border into the Republic of the Congo. He is now in the north eastern corner of the vast Lake Télé Community Reserve, an area of approximately 4,389 square km (1,695 sq miles) of inaccessible swamp forest in northeastern Republic of the Congo. Is this the first leg of JAC's journey North? Stay tuned to find out! 

We received some weak signals from Daniel's tag on Tuesday morning suggesting that he has flown 410 km (254 miles) south from Central African Republic into the south eastern corner of Cameroon. He is now at the southern edge of Boumba Bek National Park.  

Victor II has moved out of Gabon, departing on Christmas Day and flying 231 km (144 miles) north east into the Republic of Congo. He has returned to the same area that he visited at the end of October, on his way south.

New signals received from AJ's tag over the last couple of days show that he has flown 946 km (588 miles) north from Angola where he has been for the past month, to an area of dense rainforest in southern Gabon. This represents the first leg of AJ's spring migration which will hopefully bring him back to Sherwood Forest by the end of March/early April.

Since our last update, AJ has flown 1,100km (685 miles) south-west from his location deep in the Democratic Republic of Congo to his current location in north western Angola. He is now in the Quiçama National Park, approximately 70 km (40 miles) south of the capital Luanda. AJ is now our most southerly Cuckoo, but it isn't unprecedented for our tagged Cuckoos to visit Angola. Those of you who have been following the project for a while will know that PJ has also been a regular visitor to this very same part of Angola, though interestingly, he is staying further north this year.