Updates from our Cuckoos

Hot on Wilfrid’s heels, Hafren has now set off across the Sahara.

Leaving his temporary stopping-off point in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, he skirted along the eastern border of Guinea, cut across south-eastern Mali, and motored through Mauritania before arriving in Western Sahara, covering around 2,200 km (1,370 miles).   

From here, he should head up along the Moroccan coast, after which he will cross into Spain.

We hadn’t received any signals from Wilfrid since March 20, when he was still in south-east Guinea. Any concerns that we may have had for his wellbeing and whereabouts were joyously dashed yesterday when it became clear that he’d made significant progress since his last check-in.

At some point in the last 11 days he headed north in earnest, clearing the Sahara and arriving in the Extremadura region in central Spain! Currently just north of Guadalupe, he has covered at least 3,500 km (2,174 miles) since leaving Guinea and in excess of 7,000 km (4,350 miles) since departing his wintering grounds in Angola.

Of all our tagged Cuckoos, Wilfrid was the one who wintered the furthest south this year and he is now by far the most northerly of our birds!

Sayaan has finally made a move, leaving his wintering grounds in the dense rainforests of the Congo basin. In just a few days, he rapidly flew over 2,000 km (1,240 miles) to the south-west Nigerian coast. 

After a brief stop on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, he has now moved a further 470 km (292 miles) into central Ghana.  

Cleeve has made his way from Republic of the Congo, across the Gulf of Guinea, covering around 2,200 km (1,367 miles). He is now in eastern Côte d'Ivoire, hot on the heels of Cuckoo Joe!

Since we last checked in on his movements, Joe has moved west from Ghana and is now in eastern Côte d'Ivoire, approximately 154 km (95 miles) north-east of the capital Yamoussoukro. 

Remarkably, he is currently less than 30 km (18 miles) from his cohort companion Cuckoo Cleeve!  

In the last couple of weeks, since arriving in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Hafren has moved slowly north up the Sassandra River, and is now close to Mont Sângbé National Park, a designated area which is home to a range of wildlife including Western Chimpanzee, African Bush Elephant, Royal Antelope and birds such as Baumann's Olive Greenbul and Emerald Starling.

Having moved from Gabon into the Republic of the Congo in mid-February, Hafren has now made significant headway. After spending a couple of weeks in an area close to the hunting reserve of Domaine de Chasse de Mboko, he set off in a westerly direction, covering some 2,500 km (1,500 miles).

His signal now places him in Côte d'Ivoire (also known as Ivory Coast). He is just 114 km (70 miles) west of the country’s capital city, Yamoussoukro.

In recent days Joe has made remarkable progress, covering some 2,500 km (1,500 miles) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through to Ghana, passing through five African countries en route.

Presently just about bang in the centre of Ghana, he is in the tropical savannah region, close to a large tributary of the Black Volta river.

Since our last update in mid-February, Cleeve has move slowly northwards. Still in the Republic of the Congo, he is now in the north-west of the country, around 530 km (330 miles) north from his main wintering area.

Close to the northern border of Gabon, he is currently just west of Odzala-Kokoua National Park, one of Africa’s oldest national parks and home to Forest Elephant and Western Lowland Gorilla.

Having spent the last few months deep in the forests of north-west Angola (furthest south of all our tagged Cuckoos), Wilfrid is now clearly feeling the urge to head back north.

He has made a massive leap, covering multiple African countries, passing through Gabon and western Cameroon before arriving in Nigeria a few days ago.

From here, he has continued his journey, sweeping past a further four countries until arriving at his current location in south-eastern Guinea. He has already covered approximately 3,700 km (2,300 miles) since leaving his wintering quarters in Angola.