Chris the Cuckoo running later than ever

ByRichard Nissen 14 August 2014 Reading Time: 1 minute

In previous years, Chris has been one of the first tagged Cuckoos to cross the Sahara desert but this year he seems to be on a much more relaxed schedule. His previous arrival dates south, of the Sahara desert, were mid July but right now he’s not even in Africa – he’s still in Italy! Most of our Cuckoos are having a successful southward migration this year, possibly as a result of them being in good condition when they left the UK thanks to our good spring and early summer weather. Six other Cuckoos remain in Europe while thirteen are in Africa. Follow our satellite-tagged Cuckoos here.

Link is http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking?dm_i=IG4,2PAU4,6WEXAZ,9V0AA,1

Magnetoreception – the ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field

David Keays is one of the mega stars of animal navigation research and has spent a life time trying to work out how magnetism might work. Here is a summary of his latest work: Magnetoreception is the ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field, which is used for orientation and navigation. Behavioural experiments have shown…

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Magnetoreception and the ruling hypothesis

This paper is fascinating. This site has always been sceptical about Magnetoreception – the magnetic navigation story for the same reasons that are discussed here. No-one has found the magnetic receptors. the cryptochrome story requires conditions in the eye that are not conducive to quantum effects and knowing where North is does not help without…

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Avian Navigation

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17855194 Please look at this link as it covers important ground on Avian Navigation. You will see that one of our heroes David Keays has established that the magnetite structure in the beaks of pigeons does not exist. The magnetic theory still has problems because you cannot navigate using a compass without knowing where you…

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The prevailing ideas on Navigation

A summary 2011 The two prevailing ideas on long distance navigation are based around two ideas: Magnetic cues Olfactory cues (smell) It is clear that near home animals, birds and humans build up a map of their neighbourhood with remembered sights smells and landmarks. This is all mediated by the hippocampus. There is some evidence…

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Cuckoo tracking

The Cuckoo is one of the migrants we know least about once it leaves the UK, however the BTO track, on their amazing site, the movements of five Cuckoos from breeding grounds in East Anglia to their winter quarters in Africa. http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking Cuckoo tracking what we’ve learnt so far: http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking/what-have-we-learnt Latest Cuckoo tracking news: http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking/european-cuckoo-study…

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Migration observation

I love this little observation by James Mather… “I was on a ladder clearing the gutters end of last week, and over a period of hours heard a number of flocks of birds gathering to migrate, and I could see them heading off in V-formation. Then, at one point, low cloud closed in, but I…

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