Updates from our Cuckoos

Having spent a month in Mali, Bill has begun his journey east and is currently in the Dinderesso Forest in western Burkina Faso, just west of the second largest city in the country, Bobo-Dioulasso, with a population of just over half a million people. The weather at the moment is similar to that in parts of the UK, 29 degrees and high humidity.

Just before dawn on 27 August we received several locations that showed 121321 had left Burkina Faso. His stopover in Burkina Faso lasted for just over a month. He is currently in northern Benin close to the Pandjari National Park, 434km (270 miles) south and east of his Burkina Faso stopover site.

It has been over twenty days since we last heard from 161319 and we aren't really sure why. When we last heard from him both he and his tag seemed to be OK. So, it might be that we have lost him or that his tag has failed, possibly as a result of being predated. He might even still pop up south of the Sahara. At this stage we just don't know.

Since crossing the desert and arriving in southern Mali, PJ has continued east along the southern edge of the desert and is now in neighbouring Niger, close to the border with Nigeria.

Peckham is still settled in the stopover site that he used last year, however, he has lingered for almost a month longer this time. We are not sure why this is the case as this is only the second migration that Peckham has undertaken wearing a satellite tag. It might be that last year was unusual, or indeed that this year is the unusual one, so it is hard to draw conclusions at this stage. We do know that in 2015 the region suffered a severe drought which might have moved Peckham on early, only time will tell what is a normal departure date for him.

A location received in the early hours of 25 August showed Markoo on his way across the Sahara. He was in central Algeria and just about halfway through the desert crossing. However, we received a poor quality location around breakfast time on 26 August that suggests he has made it across and is on the southern edge of the desert. We will have to wait for better quality locations to confirm this. Fingers crossed for Markoo.

Since arriving in Chad Larry has been settled in the area in southern Chad close to the Manda National Park, presumably resting and feeding after his desert crossing. He used this stopover last year, leaving it on 10 October.

Jack's tag is sending in lots of locations that show he is alive and well. Twelve locations received on 25 August firmly place him in the Loire Valley, close to Saint-Polgues. Currently, the wind is very light, the temperature is 27 degrees and the forecast is for it to stay the same for the next few days. If he was thinking of making a move south the weather won't hold him up.

We haven't heard from Disco Tony's tag since 12 August, when a poor quality location showed that he was still in southern France.We haven't received a good quality location from Disco Tony since he arrived in southern France in mid-July, which suggests there might be an issue with his tag. We wouldn't be surprised if he dosen't pop-up somewhere further south - only time will tell.

The last few days have been a tense time for us here at the BTO. David has been attempting his desert crossing and for a while it looked like he might be in trouble. He left Montenegro during the evening of 17 August and we heard nothing more from his tag until a poor quality signal on 22 August put him in the Sudan desert, 700km (400 miles) short of a successful crossing, but around mid-afternoon on 24 August a series of good quality signals showed that he has successfully crossed the desert.

In doing so, David has become our most successful tagged Cuckoo. If he makes it back to his wintering location in the Congo rainforest, he will have completed four and-a-half migrations to and from Africa. We all have our fingers crossed that he makes it.