Has Kasper ‘come a cropper? Well it’s starting to look that way, unfortunately. There have been no further transmissions received from Kasper, our sponsored cuckoo, who was last heard of in Algeria on 12 April.
Satellite track opf Kasper's movements since being tagged in May 2011
It’s quite telling that of the five cuckoos tagged by the BTO Cuckoo Project, it appears that only two have made it home to their breeding grounds in Norfolk after spending the winter in Africa. This underlies the perils that face long-distance migrants having to overfly large areas of hostile habitat, such as the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea.
But we haven’t given up hope and we’ll be amongst the first to spread the good news if Kasper pops up again.
Have you heard a cuckoo this spring?
If so, the BTO urges you to “make your cuckoo count”. Please add your cuckoo record to BirdTrack to help build up a picture of what is happening to these threatened birds – follow this simple guide to adding one-off sightings.
