Updates from our Cuckoos

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. 

We were beginning to think that we might have heard the last from Daniel as he has remained a long way north of the rest of the pack. He has remained in Chad since arriving there on 1st September. However, a couple of new signals received over the last few days show him 743 km (462 miles) south of his last location in Chad. This movement means that Daniel is now in western Central African Republic. Will he push further south and join the others in the Congo basin? Hopefully we'll find out over the next week or two. 

PJ appears to have flown 375 km (232 miles) north from his last location in the south of the Republic of Congo over the border into Gabon. He is now in south eastern Gabon, approximately 50km north of the town of Lekoni. It is a little surprising to see PJ moving further away from his traditional wintering area in Angola so it'll be interesting to see where he moves to next. 

Over the last few days Calypso has completed a 965 km (600 mile) journey south east from Nigeria to the Republic of the Congo. He is now in the Western Cuvette department in the western part of the Republic of the Congo.

Victor II has flown 265 km (165 miles) south west, over the border from Republic of the Congo into south eastern Gabon. He is now close to the Passa River in the Bateke Plateau National Park. The park covers an area of approximately 2,000 square km and is a UNESCO world heritage site at the transition between rain forest and savannah. Camera trap studies over recent years have shown the presence in the park of 12 mammal species that are threatened with extinction, including chimpanzee, leopard, elephant, giant pangolin and western lowland gorilla. They also captured the first definitive proof of Lion in Gabon (in 2015). 

PJ has left Equatorial Guinea and moved to southern Republic of the Congo, close to the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is now only 400km (248 miles) away from his wintering area in Angola, a mere stone's throw for a Cuckoo. He arrived there on 21st November last year and stayed until 17 January, so we should see him making his last southerly movement soon. 

Since our last update Ellis has relocated, flying 108 km (68 miles) north within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is in forest approximately 60 Km west of the town of Befale in north western DRC.

Over the last few days Llangollen Cuckoo JAC has left the Republic of the Congo, flying 235 km (146 miles) east into the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is now 40 km (24 miles) north of Lake Tumba and within the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe wetlands, the largest Wetland of International Importance in the world. He is within a vast area of moist tropical forest covering an area more than twice the size of Belgium. 

Victor II has swapped Equatorial Guinea for the Republic of Congo after flying 485 km (301 miles) south east. He is now in the forest, approximately 8 km north of the town of Ewo in the Cuvette-Ouest department of Western Congo.