Cutting edge Cuckoo information

The Cuckoo has been in the news recently, and rightly so, because this is a fascinating species. Cuckoos have been declining in the UK for a while now and things are getting very serious. Part of the problem is the severe lack of knowledge concerning its migration route once it leaves our shores and goes south to Africa. With only one British ringing recovery in Cameroon, there is so much to learn about its movements and population dynamics.

To help fillthis gap in our knowledge, BTO staff and volunteers have fitted state-of-the-art satellite transmitters on five male Cuckoos caught in East Anglia. Their movements can now be tracked very precisely and you can follow them by clicking here.


The movements are updated regularly. One Cuckoo, Clement, was ringed on the BTO reserve on 19th May and is currently in France! Another bird, Chris, has left Norfolk and is now near Battle in Sussex.

This is an amazing project and these five Cuckoos will lead the way in some cutting edge science. At the same time they'll be contributing to the conservation of their species.