Puzzling Cuckoo moves.

   BTO have just issued a bulletin on the movements of its tagged Cuckoos in Africa including mine, JAC.

Llangollen Cuckoo JAC has been giving us the run around, an erroneous signal received a couple of weeks ago suggested he had already flown from his wintering grounds in the Congo Basin directly to Ivory Coast. The next signal we received however showed him back east in Cameroon. Over the past week we have received several high quality signals that show that JAC has now made his way to Ivory Coast, albeit at a more leisurely pace than we originally thought! JAC is now in eastern Ivory Coast approximately 107km (66 miles) north east of the capital Yamoussoukro and 89km east of Cuckoo PJ.

My Rooks.

 Seven Rooks nests being guarded.

 The Horse Chestnut tree outside my bedroom window now holds seven conpleted Rooks nests which are jealously guarded as birds from the trees at the back of the house attempt to steal sticks for their own nests. These birds have now realised that the sticks dropped over the drive and path might be usefull for their own nests and are taking them away, the first time I have seen this behaviour. Their own nests are not nearly as advanced, some birds don't even seem to have started building yet.

 My next door neighbours Rooks

 

My first butterfly of the year, a Brimstone, was seen further down the village yesterday.

My Cuckoo on the move.

A bulletin on my cuckoo JAC which has moved 1,900 miles westard on its return journey to Wales.

    JAC

 " Our  Cuckoos were all tagged in 2021 so are on their first tracked return migration. We last heard from Llangollen Cuckoo JAC on 20th January when he was deep in the Congo Basin. A new update received at 07:16 on Sunday morning suggest that he has moved 3,058km (1,900 miles) west to Ivory Coast. He is approximately 70km west of Lake Bandama in central Ivory Coast."

PJ knows this part of Central Ivory coast well, having stopped off here on previous northward migrations. We expect him to remain here for a few weeks before embarking on the next leg of his journey.  

  JAC's route.