Epic journey is cuckoo clocked
AN Irish cuckoo has returned to its homeland after an epic journey which saw it spend the winter in Africa.
The bird, named Cuach KP, is one of three that were fitted with satellite tags as part of a new Cuckoo Tracking Project launched last summer.
It is the first to successfully make the journey home for the summer months when it landed at Fermoy, Cork this week then headed to Killarney National Park in Kerry, where it flew off from last year.
While the cuckoo has been well-studied during the breeding season, very little is known about the routes they take once they head off on migration.
The Cuckoo Tracking Project was set up by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) together with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) last year.
They wanted a better understanding of their migration patterns and the habitat pressures on the cuckoo population.
All the birds were given names and tags so that their movements could be tracked.
The NPWS revealed Cuach KP had travelled an extraordinary 9,000km to and from the Kingdom, covering two continents and several countries along the way.
After wintering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo he was tracked in Morocco, Cameroon, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
He then flew northwards from the Western Sahara, where it was tagged south-west of Marrakesh before heading for Kerry.
Ireland’s Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan said: “The return of Cuach KP is a real success story for this project and the partnership between the NPWS and the British Trust for Ornithology.”