Updates from our Cuckoos

Unlike the Cuckoos tagged in Scotland last year, which flew straight across the sea to Europe, Livingstone, has moved south, heading down the west of the country and then taking a south-easterly direction from the Irish Sea to cut across England to the south coast. Transmissions just before lunch on 25 June show he was just north of Waterlooville in Hampshire but a later signal shows he has crossed over the border to West Sussex and is now between South Harting and Rogate. Interestingly, Karma, another of the Cuckoos tagged in the same area of Scotland this year, has chosen another tactic, instead moving eastwards to Aberdeen. Will he fly to Europe across the sea or skirt down the east coast in a similar fashion? 

On the evening of 22 June, we received one transmission showing that Ryder was just west of Holne. The next signal, early in the morning of 25 June shows he had arrived on the coast of Brittany and Lower Normandy, about 30km (19 miles) east of Saint-Malo and 50km (30 miles) north of Rennes, after completing a distance of 270km (169 miles) including crossing the English Channel at one of its widest points.  

Chris has become the third Cuckoo to leave the UK! Poor quality locations received on the afternoon of 21 June show that Chris had left his position close to Mildenhall and was in the middle of his crossing of the English Channel.  A good location a couple of hours after this placed him in Belgium about 30km (19 miles) inland close to the municipality Wingene in the Belgian province of West Flanders. 

From the wooded area north-east of the commune of Saint-Saëns on 20 June, Sussex has continued heading south. By the afternoon of 22 June, signals placed him 300km (190 miles) to the south-east, close to the commune of Saint-Étienne-en-Dévoluy in the Hautes-Alpes region in south-eastern France and to the Plateau de Bure interferometer, the most advanced facility existing today for radio astronomy.  Poor quality signals indicate he may have continued further south another 40km (25 miles) towards the commune of Bayons and into the Provence- Alpes-Cote-d’Azur region, located in the south-east corner of the country.

Cuckoo 128302 has been named Skinner after Norfolk farmer, broadcaster and BTO supporter, Chris Skinner.

From his location close to Loch Katrine, BB has become the second Cuckoo to leave the UK! Interestingly, he has timed it almost exactly as the year before. His last transmission from Scotland was on 18 June, the same day he was tracked crossing the North Sea last year, and the next one, received early on 21 June, showed he had made land at the Friesland Islands in The Netherlands.  As last year, he made a large sea crossing; from the east coast of Scotland straight across to The Netherlands,  not attempting to minimise this by heading south first and crossing at a point where the sea was narrower.  Last year, BB quickly moved on and was in Germany by 20 June.  Transmissions next week will show us whether he has done the same in 2013.   

Sussex hasn’t wasted any time and has continued his journey on to Central France. By the afternoon of 20 June Sussex had moved 350km (220 miles) SE to south-west Burgundy. He is currently south–east of Saint-Germain-Chassenay, between the communes of Decize and Dornes.

115586 has been named Derek by Kate Bradbury, author and freelance wildlife gardening writer for the Guardian, who is supporting the Cuckoo Project.

Sussex was still in Ashdown Forest on the evening of the 15 June but by 18 June he had hopped 167km (104 miles) across the English Channel and was in the Upper Normandy region of France. He is roughly 28km (18 miles) inland of the coast in a wooded area north-east of Saint-Saëns. After Karma became the first of our cuckoos to begin his migration late last week, Sussex has become the first to leave the country this autumn!