Read the latest updates from our Cuckoos on their epic migration between the UK and tropical Africa, or track their movements in real-time on our Cuckoo migration map.
Our last update from Wilfrid, around a week ago, saw him still lingering in Portugal.
However, soon after this he set off across the Atlantic, bypassing the Canary Islands and the Moroccan coast, and making landfall at Dakhla, in the Western Sahara region.
From here, he continued through Senegal, and our latest signal shows that he is now following the River Gambia and is just 60km (37 miles) from the Guinea border. Since leaving Portugal Wilfrid has flown more than 2,900 km (1,800 miles).
This is the third ‘autumn’ that we have been able to follow Joe, after he was satellite tagged in Norfolk in May 2022, and he has taken much the same route this year as on earlier migrations.
Mirroring his previous movements, he is currently in south-east Chad, nearing the Bahr Aouk River, on the border of Central African Republic.
Hafren has now left Spain and is making his way south along the North African coast.
His route saw him setting off across the sea, leaving the Spanish mainland west of the famous Doñana National Park, before arriving on the Moroccan coast just to the north of the city of Agadir.
At 7.36 this morning, we received a signal showing that he was close to the Western Sahara border. In the last 48 hours Hafren has covered around 1,220 km (758 miles).
Henry, if the satellite information is accurate (and there’s no reason for us to assume that it isn’t), is behaving rather oddly… following his 12-day stay just to the south-west of Paris, he finally set off, but instead of heading south he took off to the north, towards Germany!
Two days ago he passed Cologne and continued to fly northwards. He then bypassed Bremen and cracked on towards Hamburg, before veering west, and at 7.56 this morning (24) we received a signal to say that he was just north of the North Sea port city of Bremerhaven!
In summary, Henry appears to have flown approximately 960 km (596 miles) in the wrong direction. Hopefully, he will soon reorientate and head south after his surprising German tour.
Since our last update, when Sayaan was in the Jalo oasis area of northern Libya, he has flown a further 1,766 km (1,097 miles) across the desert and is currently in east Chad.
He has reached the Sahel region, where he can hopefully rest and feed a little before continuing south. At 8.03 this morning (24 July) he was close to the western border of Sudan and just north of the city of Abéché, the fourth largest city in Chad.
Having crossed the Sahara a week ago, Joe has been taking it relatively easy.
He moved down through north-east Nigeria, passing through Cameroon and is currently in the Chari-Baguirmi region of southern Chad.
This is one feisty Cuckoo! The last of our tagged birds to leave the UK, Nick II has really ploughed on and is now the second of our birds to tackle the Sahara.
He is currently on the coast of Mauritania, having left Suffolk just 11 days ago! Since our last update, he has flown south through Spain, and cut across north-west Morocco before passing through Western Sahara, and arriving just to the north of Nouakchott, Mauritania’s sprawling and densely-populated capital.
His next move should see him moving south through Senegal or Mali, before heading to his wintering grounds.
After a lengthy rest in central Italy, Sayaan has clearly felt the urge to get a move on in recent days.
He has now crossed the Mediterranean and is currently in northeastern Libya, in the Al Wahat District in the Jalo oasis, and about to commence his epic Sahara crossing.
When, and where, will he arrive on the other side?
After leaving the Basque region a few days ago, Cuthbert flew 380 km (236 miles) south, to an area just west of Madrid, in the province of Ávila, Castile and León.
Curiously, he then headed north again, covering another 380 km (236 miles) before arriving near the coast in the province of Asturias! He then headed a further 230 km (142 miles) south-west, and is now on the Atlantic coast close to the Portuguese border.
After a few days feeding up around the Spanish town of Tordesillas, Wilfrid headed in a south-westerly direction on the evening of 19 July.
In just three days he covered a distance of around 520 km (323 miles), passing Salamanca and Badajoz en route. Now in Portugal, he arrived in a fairly remote region just south-west of the Guadiana Valley Natural Park at 5.23am today (22 July).
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