In the past couple of days, I’ve seen a number of reports of people hearing their first cuckoo of spring. Following Joe’s journey has given me a new appreciation of the challenges that cuckoos face on the way to their breeding grounds in the U.K.

Joe made his expected big move west, to Ghana, in mid-March. Cuckoos often spend time in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, feasting before the big trip across the Sahara. They take advantage of the abundance of insects that are found in the area following April rains - but like so many other things, climate change is altering both the pattern of rainfall and its timing. This year, rains - and therefore insect food - were late and more sparse than in previous years (a problem not just for cuckoos, but for those of us who love chocolate).

Finally, on April 12th, Joe made his big move north, flying nearly 1,500 miles across the Sahara. This is the most nerve-wracking part of his journey, a 50-60 hour nonstop flight with no food or water available; I had my fingers and toes crossed that he’d managed to find enough food on the Ivory Coast to fuel this major flight. Well done, Joe!

For the past 10 days, Joe has been hanging out in Spain and Portugal, no doubt recovering from his Sahara crossing. Will he fly in short hops from Spain to France, or will he make one last big push and fly direct to the U.K? Watch this space!