Updates from our Cuckoos

Trent is still the most southerly of all our Cuckoos, having made it all the way to Angola.

Over recent days he has flown 100km north from his last location, so he is now 85km (52 miles) due east of the capital Luanda. Cuckoos Chris and PJ both visited Angola and are among our longest lived birds, so hopefully, Trent will have the same luck. 

Having spent three months in North-West Nigeria and lagging significantly behind the other Cuckoos, we were fearing the worst for Sussex Cuckoo Bluey. So we were thrilled when we received new updates over the last few days showing that he had flown 540km (335 miles) south-east from Nigeria to Cameroon.

Three months in one area is quite exceptional for our Cuckoos so the areas Bluey was using in Nigeria must have been very good for him. His departure occurred just after the end of the rains at that location, likely very significant given his occupation of gallery forest along seasonal watercourses.

Bluey is now in western Cameroon, 35km (21 miles) east of the city of Bafoussam.

Over the last few days Cuach Cores has been moving steadily south from his last location in southern Chad.

By early yesterday morning (Tuesday 7 November) he had flown 370km (230 miles) south, taking him over the border into Central African Republic (CAR).

He is now in the western part of the Ouaka prefecture of CAR, 280km north-east of the capital Bangui. 

Over the last couple of days Cuckoo Trent has flown 274km (170 miles) south-west from his last location and is now in the Bengo province of Angola.

He is in a forested area close to the south-eastern edge of Angola's Quiçama National Park, approximately 100 miles south-south-east of the capital Luanga. 

Over the last few days Trent has been making steady progress south through Angola. He has flown 215km (134 miles), taking him to the north of the Malanje province of northern Angola. 

Over the last couple of days Cuach Cores has flown 730km (454 miles) east from Nigeria, over northern Cameroon and into southern Chad. 

KP has flown 405km (252 miles) south from his last location in Central African Republic to Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He is now in north-west DRC.  

After spending the last week in southern Niger, Cuach Cores has flown 407km (253 miles) south-east into Nigeria.

He is now in the south-western corner of Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria.

Trent has become the first of our tagged birds to move into Angola this year. Over the last few days he has made a series of short movements south and west, taking him from south-western DRC over the border into north-eastern Angola. He is currently approximately 10km (6.2 miles) south of the town of Quimbele.

Those who have followed the project for longer may recall that for a couple years, northern Angola was the destination of choice for Cuckoo Chris, though he favoured the west, closer to Luanda. It'll be interesting to see where Trent finally settles.