Updates from our Cuckoos

Severn’s lengthy Italian break came to an end a few days ago, after he set off from just north of Bologna, bypassing Rome and cutting across to Sicily.

Having worked his way along Sicily’s east coast, he set off across the Mediterranean last night (18) and just after 10am this morning, we received a signal showing that he was approaching the north-east Libyan coast.

Having covered around 1,200 km (745 miles) of relentless Sahara Desert since crossing the Mediterranean, KP appears to be taking a break in the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad.

With canyons and vegetated valleys running throughout this range, he will hopefully be finding plenty of food to fuel the next leg of his journey south.  

After fuelling up and resting for a while in Senegal, Wilfrid moved eastwards, passing through Mali and into Burkina Faso.

In the past few days he has continued on into southern Niger, and our latest signal shows him currently on the border with north-west Nigeria. He is just to the north of the Gagere River, approximately 100 km (62 miles) from the city of Maradi.     

After a lengthy stay in the Italian Alps, and exploring the area around Lake Garda, KP has now upped and flown south. He has coursed through central Italy and crossed the Tyrrhenian Sea to Sicily, covering around 1,083km (672 miles) in the process.  

From here, his next move should see him crossing the Mediterranean into Libya, before commencing the perilous Saharan crossing. This time last year he was already well on his way through the desert, heading south along the Libyan / Egyptian border.

George II has spent weeks in the wooded mountains of the province of Guadalajara, in Castile-La Mancha in central Spain.

As we anticipated his next move south, he defied expectations by heading 800km (497 miles) back into France! He travelled north along the Atlantic coast, before heading inland at Arcachon Bay, just west of Bordeaux, and is now close to the confluence of the Loire and Vienne rivers. What will he do next?

Hafren left Senegal and headed east across south-west Mali, into Burkina Faso.

He is now in an agricultural area between the Mouhoun, or Black Volta, River and the Kaboré Tambi National Park. This protected area was formerly known as Pô National Park and was renamed in honour of a park ranger who was tragically killed by poachers in 1991.

In recent days Cleeve has moved further into north-east Nigeria and is currently in a forested savannah area to the west of Erwa Nature Reserve in Borno State.

Since our last update Cleeve has continued south, crossing from Niger into Nigeria. He has spent the last few days at the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, an Important Bird Area in northern Nigeria.

377 bird species have been recorded here, including two species of global conservation concern, Pallid Harrier and Great Snipe.  

Cuach Cores spent July in Italy, preparing for the next leg of his journey.

Less than a week ago, he suddenly headed south, and crossed the Mediterranean before setting off across the Sahara, pressing on through Libya and into Chad. Our latest signal shows that he is now in the Sahel region, close to the city of Abéché, Chad’s fourth largest city.

Interestingly, Cores remained in Europe well into October last year, and took a very different route to Africa via Spain!

After a lengthy stay in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees, Cleeve finally headed south in earnest.

In just two days, he had flown the length of Spain, crossed the Mediterranean and was halfway across the Sahara! He appears to be well on his way, and our latest signal shows that he has passed through much of Niger, and is now close to the Nigerian border.