Patch reaches the 'Heart of Darkness'

Patch is the BTO Out of Africa Cuckoo which we at Patchwork Challenge along with Meopta & Forest Optics have sponsored. We last heard from Patch here at the beginning of September when he had started moving south through Italy. Not long after we posted Patch crossed the Mediterranean and arrived in Libya on the 3rd September. Remarkably Patch then traversed the entire Sahara in 29 hours arriving in Niger by the 5th. This was a journey of 1,160 miles! By the 9th September Patch was at the traditional staging area of Lake Chad. This area was identified as important only through the Out of Africa project. Patch refuelled in this area until early October when he moved south into the rainforests of Cameroon, 600 miles further south. Patch's latest movement into what may be his wintering quarters was a 770 mile jaunt southwest into the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is now hanging out in the largest Ramsar site in the world, Lake Mai-Ndombe. So far so good for Patch and we hope that he continues to prosper now he is in central Africa.

You can read about Patch's journey in more detail on the BTO blog about him. If you wish to donate then please give directly of course. You can also help through the Patchwork Challenge/Meopta & Forest species list. For every species seen, Meopta & Forest Optics will donate £1 to the Out of Africa Cuckoo project.You can catch up how this is going on Bubo and feel free to update our list. The account is Patchwork Challenge and the password is Patching. To date we have 310 species recorded from the entire Patchwork Challenge network. Are there any missing?