Updates from our Cuckoos

Ellis has flown a further 500km (311 miles) south from his last location near Lake Como in northern Italy, towards Rome. By 05:45 yesterday morning he was near Lake Bracciano and by 06:30 he had settled in the countryside between Sacrofano and Monte Lungo, about 25 kilometers north of Rome. Attenborough is still a whisker further south of Ellis.

Having flown from southern France into Spain and reached Calatayud in the Province of Zaragoza, Attenborough has been roaming around the province of Soria. He first visited Cihuela before moving further north and west to his current location close to Gomara. He is now approximately 23 km (14 miles) south east of the city of Soria. 

Cuckoo Ellis was still in the Netherlands late on Friday evening but by 22:46 last night he had flown 542 km (336 miles) south and was just south of Strasbourg and close to the city of Offenburg in Germany. By 3am this morning he was crossing the Alps in Switzerland and by 5am he was in the mountains above the city of Colico on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy. 

Cuckoo Daniel is on the move! Over the last few days he has flown 908 km (565 miles) from his last location on the shores of Lake Vyrnwy and by 9pm on Saturday evening was at a new location in the Allier department of central France. He is now close to the town of Chatel-Montagne in the foothills of the Bourbonnais mountains. It will be very interesting to see whether he crosses to Africa via Spain, Italy or neither! 

Attenborough only spent a few hours in southern France before pressing on over the border into Spain. He was still in France at 8pm last night but by 4:30am this morning, he was 250 km (156 miles) south of his last location. It looks as if he is making a stop near the town of Calatayud in the Sistema Ibérico mountain range in the province of Zaragoza, Spain.

Over the last 48 hours Norfolk Cuckoo Attenborough has left Normandy and headed south. By 10 am this morning (Friday 2nd July) he had flown 619 km (385 miles) south and was between Bayonne and Hasparren in the Basque Country region of south west France. This movement puts him just south of Calypso who is 513 km east of him, near Marseille. 

Since crossing the Channel JAC has flown a further 133 km (83 miles) south east and has spent the last few days around Maintenon, approximately 64km south west of Paris. 

Over the last few days Calypso has flown 745 km (464 miles) from his last location near Caen in Normandy to the south of France. He made the journey in two stages, first flying 565 km (351 miles) to stop-over briefly close to the village of Grandrieu in the Lozère department in southern France. The next day (Sunday 27th June) he was on the move again, flying a further 181 km (113 miles) south east to his current location in the outskirts of the city of Istres. Will he cross to northern Africa from here or turn west over Spain? Stay tuned for the next update to find out!

The first bird caught during this catching session was a female Cuckoo, followed by a Meadow Pipit, these were ringed and let go. After a long wait a male Cuckoo came flying in followed by another Meadow Pipit and swiftly followed by another male Cuckoo – they are like buses! Both Cuckoos were within the weight range required for tagging but we only had one tag left to fit. Since being tagged, Daniel has remained close to his tagging location.

Having spent a few days near Barnard's Green in Worcestershire, JAC has flown 340 km (211 miles) south-east across the English Channel, arriving in Normandy yesterday morning. He is close to Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Taille.