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 landed home in Killarney National Park in Kerry this week, where it flew off from last year after the birds were fitted with their tags in May 2023.
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 or where in Africa they spend the winter months.
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 to better understand their migration patterns and the habitat pressures on the cuckoo population.
NPWS district conservation officer Mary Sheehan holds one of the cuckoos in Killarney National Park after their tagging in May 2023 (Pic: Valarie O'Sullivan)The birds were given names and tags so that their movements could be tracked.
Cuach KP is the first to successfully make the journey home for the summer months.
On arrival into Ireland on Monday, April 29, the bird made a short stop in Fermoy, Co. Cork before making his way to Derrycunihy, in Killarney National Park.
Confirming his return, Ireland’s NPWS revealed he had travelled an extraordinary 9000km 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; before flying northwards from the Western Sahara, where it was tagged south-west of Marrakesh before heading for Kerry.
“The return of Cuach KP is real success story for this project, and the partnership between the NPWS and the British Trust for Ornithology,” Ireland’s Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan said.
“Projects like this really helps us to learn more about precious birds such as the cuckoo and how we can all keep them safe.”
Eamonn Meskell, Divisional Manager at Killarney National Park, said the organisation was “delighted that Cuach KP has found his way home to Killarney during the first year of this monitoring project”.
“Cuckoos are such an intriguing bird and one that we associate with the arrival of summer,” he added.
“All of us at Killarney National Park are now hoping that the two other birds tagged as part of this project will follow and join him here over the coming days.”
Sam Bayley is the NPWS Conservation Ranger who set up the Project in conjunction with BTO.
He said the purpose of the project was to get a "clear picture" of the cuckoo’s annual journey.
“Satellite tagging gives us a clear picture of the cuckoo’s journey for the first time, to Africa and back to Ireland,” he said.
“KPs journey was a round trip of nearly 9000km ending with an epic sea crossing from northern Spain direct to Ireland across the Bay of Biscay.
“Big sea crossings haven't been recorded in cuckoos in Europe before, so that’s a really interesting twist.”
Reports from the satellite tagging system indicate that that other cuckoos from the project are also on their way home.
Cuach Torc is currently in the vicinity of Brittany.
He had settled near the Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and later flew over 2,000km west to Ghana, and has since began flying North, via Casablanca in Morocco.
Cuach Cores was the last of the three to leave Kerry.
He remained in the South of France for several months before flying South as far as the Congo Basin in the DRC.
The bird migrated west through Cameroon, and has been tracked north-west across Nigeria and Lagos en route to Ireland.
He is already making quick progress towards Ireland.
Cuckoos - or Cuach as gaelige - are a summer migrant to Ireland, with adult birds resident there from April to early July, having spent the winter on the African continent.
Uniquely, they lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and have no involvement in raising their young.
