Updates from our Cuckoos

Over the last few days Trent has flown 460 km (286 miles) south east in Mali. He is close to the Bagoe River, 58 km (36 miles) south east of the town of Diolila in the Koulikoro Region of south-western Mali. 

Since our last update Cuach Cores has flown 618 km (384 miles) across France from the east to the west. He is now in the countryside north of the town of Le Pian-Médoc, near Bordeaux. 

Since our last update Trent has been moving steadily east along the border between southern Mauritania and south western Mali.

He has so far flown 128 km (80 miles) east from his last location and is now 27 km (18 miles) west of the town of Niorro du Sahel in the Kayes region of western Mali.  

After keeping us waiting for a week, KP is finally on the move again and has flown 71 km (44 miles) south in Sudan. He is now in the Meidob volcanic field, an area of 100 km x 50 km of lava flows in northern Darfur.

This is largely a barren area but there are mountain springs, wadis and a lake which support the growth of trees and shrubs. Hopefully KP is finding sufficient food here to keep him going as he nears the southern edge of the Sahara. 

Trent has left Senegal and flown 320 km (199 miles) north-east into Mali. He is now approximately 22 km (14 miles) north-west of the town of Diongaga in the Kayes Region of south western Mali, just south of the border with Mauritania.

This area has seen some heavy rain over the last couple of days which should help ensure a good supply of invertebrate food for Trent. 

Cuach Cores has continued his move east, flying 321 km (200 miles) east to his new location in the countryside north-west of the city of Morteau. Morteau is in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France and just 6 km or so from the Swiss border.

He is now only 215 km from the stop-over location in northern Italy that he started this part of his detour from, will he cross the Alps again back into Northern Italy?

Sadly it appears that we have heard the last from Suffolk Cuckoo Jasper. When we last heard from him he was in the countryside west of Saint-Julien-du-Sault in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. We can't be certain what has happened to him, but our suspicion is that he has perished in that area. We are of course sad that Jasper's journey was a relatively short one but he has added valuable information to our growing knowledge of the pressures faced by our Cuckoos, and importantly, information about where they are dying.

We have been waiting anxiously for further updates on KP's progress across the desert, willing him on during his epic journey. Since our last update he has battled on south, flying a further 920 km (572 miles) from Egypt into Sudan.

The most recent updates received between 3 pm and 10 pm yesterday showed him in the desert some 50 km north of the Meidob volcanic field in Darfur, Sudan.

Although he is still in the desert, he appears to be in a seasonal river bed and with heavy thunderstorms yesterday, he may well be able to find some food here.

We'll keep our fingers crossed that the next time we receive an update from KP's tag he will have completed his desert crossing. 

Trent has continued his journey south through Senegal. He has flown a further 60 km (37 miles) south and is now at the south-eastern corner of the Diambour Forest Reserve in south-eastern Senegal. Clement, one of the very first Cuckoos we tagged, spent some time here on his way south in 2011.

He is also now at the northern edge of the 9,000 sq km Niokolo-Koba National Park.  This vast area of woodland savannah, wet woodlands and seasonal wetlands should provide rich pickings for a Cuckoo like Trent.

New updates received from Cuach Cores' tag between 3 am and 10 am this morning show that he has flown 141 km (88 miles) east from his last location.

He has spent the last few hours close to EDF's Dampierre nuclear power plant  in the town of Dampierre-en-Burly, in the Loiret department of north-central France.