This week all the classes have looked at how technology is being used to help find out why cuckoo numbers are declining. Scientists are tracking cuckoos on their migration using a solar 'tag', weighing the same as a 20p piece.
Did you know ...
- Cuckoo numbers have declined by 50% in the last 20 years
- Cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests and get another (much smaller) bird to do all the hard work bringing up their chicks!
- The male cuckoo says 'Cuckoo, cuckoo' but the female bird makes a gurgling noise
The scientists working on the tracking project have also found out that:
- Sometimes cuckoos travel SW after leaving the UK, crossing the Sahara desert on the West of Africa and then come back East, travelling 3000 miles further than those that migrate directly South.
- One cuckoo stayed in the UK for only 6 weeks before migrating back to Africa!
These links are really interesting if you want to see for yourself!
Common cuckoo chick ejecting reed warbler eggs
BTO Cuckoo Tracking website
Mrs Davis
ICT Subject Leader
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