Updates from our Cuckoos

Chris is still in the Sedlescombe area of East Sussex.

We have been contacted by Mr Patrick Roper who lives in the Sedlescombe area and he reports that the area has been good for Cuckoos this year, unlike other places nearby. He wonders whether Chris might have homed in on the area because of this? It could well explain why Chris hasn’t moved further south.

At the time of writing, no further, accurate positions have been received for Chris.

No further accurate positions have been received for Martin but he appears to still be in the area inland of Winterton Dunes, Norfolk, not too far from where the tag was fitted.

Lyster remains in the same area that he has been frequenting - the most accurate recent position received puts him close to the village of Freehope.

Two fairly accurate locations received for Kapser in the afternoon of 15 June suggest that he remains in the same vicinity of Antwerp docks.

Although we initially wondered whether Kasper might have made part of his journey to Antwerp docks via a boat, our colleague Lyndon Kearsley who lives close by, says he thinks this is unlikely. The area is apparently a ‘migrant trap’ that funnels migrants that have arrived on the coast down towards the docks. Many of the areas between the industrial installations are managed for conservation and so make very good habitat for birds. Apparently the area is good for Cuckoos throughout the breeding season - perhaps Kasper has been lured by these? The particular area that Kasper is in is out of bounds to the public so Lyndon is waiting for further news on his whereabouts in the hope that he might be able to track him down in the field.

Having remained in the same area since he was tagged, Kasper surprised us all by turning up on the morning of Monday 13 June 240km (150 miles) to the south-east in an area of wooded scrub in the middle of an oil storage facility in Antwerp docks! We wonder whether he might have made part of this journey on board an Antwerp bound oil tanker? Kasper is the third Cuckoo to move away from his tagging location and the first to do so in a directly south-easterly direction.

At 0210 hrs on the morning of Sunday 12 June, Clement was located 300km (188 miles) south of his previous location is Burgundy – another movement due to south over the course of a weekend! Although the locations received were not very precise, by 0500 hrs he was approximately a further 65 km (40 miles) further south, 30km (18 miles) NNE of Aix-en-Provence. As first suspected when he moved due south to France, he appears to be heading to northern Italy whilst avoiding the Alps.

Lyster has remained in the area between Reedham, Cantley and Halvergate – although in the early evening of Saturday (11 June) he made another one of his brief trips, this time 15km (9 miles) south-west to the area around Brooke.

Chris remains in the Sedlescombe area in East Sussex, although in the evening of Saturday (11 June) he did make a brief excursion out to an area of woodland near Netherfield, north-west of Battle.

Martin has remained in the same area – on Saturday evening he was located at Martham Fen. Perhaps a good area for female Cuckoos on the look out for Reed Warbler nests.

Clement has remained in the same area of central Burgundy that he was last located in, a couple of accurate fixes apparently identifying the particular woodland he has settled near to or in.