FOR THE THIRD year in a row, a cuckoo has landed in Killarney National Park after flying over 9,000 kilometres from Ghana.

The bird has been named by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as Cuach Cores.

Cuach is Irish for cuckoo, while Cores is a mountain in Killarney National Park where this bird was tagged.

Cuach Cores had not been heard of since last Autumn after he’d successfully crossed the Sahara.

But “out of the blue” last month, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) received a signal that he was in Ghana.

Cuach Cores has travelled from the Congolese Forests to Derrycunnihy Woodland, Killarney National Park, for the third year in a row valerie O'Sullivan valerie O'Sullivan

“Presumably, he’d spent the last four months in the Congolese forests as usual,” said Killarney National Park.

“He is now on his way with his tag functioning again for an epic journey of 9,000 kilometers.”

The latest data from the BTO showed Cuach Cores entering Spain on 10 April, after being picked up in Ghana on 19 March.

He then left Spain and came ashore in western France on Saturday.

As of Monday, Cuach Cores was on the outskirts of Villeneuve-en-Retz, a town in western France.

He then headed north and straight into Ireland.

Killarney National Park said he’s “pretty much on schedule” as he landed on 22 April last year.

Visitors to Killarney National Park have been told that if they head for Derrycunnihy Church, park their car, follow the Kerry Way signs for Old Kenmare Road -Incheens, and then pass the stream, they should be able to hear him from the path.

Cuach Cores was first tagged at Incheens, Derrycunnihy, Killarney National Park in May 2023 and was the first cuckoo in Ireland and UK to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo in September 2023.

Cuach Cores's flight path

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has commenced a cross-channel cuckoo tracking project with the BTO to find out where Irish cuckoos, including Cuach Cores, spend their winter months.

It’s hoped the project will also answer if Irish cuckoos undertake a different migration strategy to their British counterparts across the Irish Sea.

The NPWS has partnered with the BTO to satellite track four Irish Cuckoos – three from Killarney National Park, and one from Burren National Park, Co Clare. 

The birds were fitted with satellite tags and their movements can be followed on the new Cuckoo page.

Cuach Cores was tagged in 2023 at Incheens, Derrycunnihy, Killarney National Park valerie O'Sullivan valerie O'Sullivan

The Cuckoo has a long history in Ireland as a harbinger of summer, arriving in the last days of April which have often been referred to as “the time of the cuckoo”.

Cuckoos are a summer migrant to Ireland, with adult birds only being here from April to early July having spent the winter in Africa.

They are a unique bird in Ireland, as they lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and have no involvement in raising their young.

The most recent Bird Atlas population trends across Britain and Ireland show large declines across England and Wales, increases in Scotland and relative stability in Ireland.