An Irish cuckoo used in the cuckoo tracking project. Image: Valerie O’Sullivan
Irish cuckoo Cuach KP has returned to the Emerald Isle after a winter spent in Central Africa.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has announced the return of a cuckoo named Cuach KP to Killarney National Park, having spent the colder months in Central Africa’s Congo Basin.
The bird, who is part of a large-scale cuckoo tracking project established by NPWS and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), is the first cuckoo of the study to have travelled the 9,000km distance back to Ireland for the summer.
Cuach KP, whose name is a nod towards the Irish for cuckoo, made a quick detour to Fermoy, before continuing on towards Derrycunihy, in Killarney National Park.
In May 2023, Cuach KP had a movement monitoring satellite tag attached and was released alongside two other cuckoos, Cuach Torc and Cuach Cores, who are expected to arrive home in the coming days.
Information from the study, which largely focused on the little-known migration patterns and habitat pressures of cuckoos, will be used to keep the birds safe and enhance existing knowledge.
Notable data from the tracking device shows that after leaving the Central African rainforests, Cuach KP crossed over northern Spain and the Bay of Biscay. As the first recorded instance of a cuckoo undertaking a big sea crossing over Europe, this is of particular significance.
As for his friends, Cuach Torc is currently flying over Brittany and Cuach Cores left Algeria around April 30.
Commenting on the epic tale, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan, TD, said, “The return of Cuach KP is a real success story for this project, and the partnership between the NPWS and the BTO.
“Projects like this really help 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 added, “We’re 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. 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.”
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