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Updates from our Cuckoos

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.

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No transmission from Kasper

06 Oct 2011

On 3 October Kasper remained around the Bayan Dutsin Forest Reserve. We didn’t receive any good locations from him during the last transmission cycle earlier today – the charge on his tag was very low. It has not been charging well for a while, possibly because Kasper has been spending his time under the canopy of the forest reserve.

Martin is joined by Chris

06 Oct 2011
Martin remains in southern Central African Republic but has now been joined by Chris, who is just 135km to the ESE. The similarity in their journeys and their recent convergence has been quite striking.

Will Clement follow?

06 Oct 2011

Clement is still in the Lame Burra Game Reserve, north-west of the Yankari Game Reserve, about 130km NE of Jos in central Nigeria, where he has been since the end of August. With the two Cuckoos, that were to the east of here, having now moved south into southern Central African Republic, we are waiting to see when he will move on. The area has slightly higher rainfall than where Martin and Chris were in Chad but it is possible Clement will move on now the wet season is at an end. On the other hand, having taken the western route to get here, perhaps he will do something totally different...

Chris moves south

06 Oct 2011
On 1st October Chris was still at his long-held position in southern Chad. However, when transmissions started again on the evening of Monday 3 October he had moved 790km almost due south, almost all the way over Central African Republic and stopped 8km from the border with Congo, at the Basse-Lobaye Forest. 
 
He is about 135km ESE of Martin and is now our most southerly cuckoo. He is poised on the northern edge of the Congo basin, to the north of the rainforest. To his south lies the area where many Common Swifts that breed in Britain spend the winter, alongside those from elsewhere in Europe. Although not well explored, the Central African Republic that he has just passed over is likely to hold numerous migrants at this time of year and the Guinea savannah woodlands should be full of Wood Warblers and European Golden Orioles as well as Cuckoos.
 
 

Lyster moves eastwards

06 Oct 2011
By the early hours of yesterday morning Lyster had moved just over 900km ESE from his previous location in Mali and is now in Burkina Faso. He is now about 30km NNW of the town of Leo in southern Burkina, not far from the border with Ghana.
 
This places him 80km west of the Nazinga Game Reserve, which is one of the sites we have surveyed in our ‘Migrants in Africa’ project (some of which has been funded by the Out of Africa Appeal) carried out in collaboration with the RSPB, Ghana Wildlife Society and Naturama. To find out more about the work we have undertaken here, take a look at fieldwork project blog.
 
The new field season for this winter is just about to start so check back in a couple of weeks to find out how the team is getting on. We won’t be working in Burkina Faso this winter but will be carrying out detailed studies at two sites in Ghana concentrating on Nightingales and Wood Warblers so there should be plenty of interest to read about.
 
 

Lyster still in Mali

27 Sep 2011

Messages received on Monday put Lyster still in Mali. He has now been in this area for fifteen days. 

Martin heads south

27 Sep 2011

Messages received from Martin three days ago showed that he had moved 350km SSE. He is now near the southern border of Central African Republic and close to the edge of the Congo Rainforest, the second largest area of rainforest in the world. Could this be his final winter destination? At this stage we don't really know. Watch this space.

No movement from Chris

27 Sep 2011

Messages received two days ago show that Chris is still in southern Chad.

No change for Kasper

27 Sep 2011

Three low quality messages from Kasper on 26 September show that he is still in the Bayan Dutsin Forest Reserve, Nigeria.

No movement from Clement

27 Sep 2011

A transmission from Clement on 26 September put him still in the area to the north-west of the Yankari Game Reserve in Nigeria.

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