Two more cuckoos have been successfully tagged at Worlingham Marshes nature reserve in north Suffolk, contributing to vital research that aims to better understand the bird’s long-term decline. 

The birds were fitted with lightweight satellite tags as part of the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) long-running Cuckoo Tracking Project, which since 2011 has followed the remarkable trans-Saharan migration of more than 100 individual cuckoos. 

This brings the total number of tagged cuckoos at Worlingham Marshes nature reserve to four, following the tagging of ‘Nick 2’ and ‘Wilfrid’ in June 2024. Tracking data in February 2025 indicates that Nick 2 likely died in Senegal on his return journey to Suffolk, however Wilfrid has returned to Suffolk: the first of BTO’s tagged cuckoos to return to the UK. The two newest arrivals – both males – have been named ‘Arthur’ and ‘Ashok’. The three birds will now be tracked on their extraordinary journey to central Africa and back, providing crucial data to help understand the threats they face along the way. 

Once a familiar sound of the British summer, the cuckoo’s iconic two-note call is becoming increasingly rare. Since the 1960s, the UK’s breeding cuckoo population has declined by over a third. Researchers hope that by understanding more about the pressures cuckoos encounter during migration and on their wintering grounds, they can begin to better understand, and hopefully mitigate, the causes of their decline. 

Wilfrid’s incredible return to Worlingham Marshes is an example of how site-faithful these birds are, as well as a strong indication that Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s habitat restoration works - made possible with the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund – are successfully creating a haven for wildlife. 

You can follow the journeys of Wilfrid, Arthur and Ashok live on the BTO’s website: 

https://www.bto.org/get-involved/volunteer/projects/cuckoo-tracking 

Lewis Yates, Worlingham Marshes Warden at Suffolk Wildlife Trust, says:  

“It’s been amazing to work alongside the BTO team and get an insight into our local cuckoo’s movements.  Seeing Wilfrid visit all of the Trust reserves in the Lower Waveney Valley highlights the importance of our work linking up our threatened wetland habitats.  Hopefully he and the two new birds will continue to be heard across the landscape for years to come.”