We suspect that Wallace’s tag has failed. We have received no further signals since 14 September when the charge of his tag was very low - it had been progressively charging to lower levels over several previous cycles. We now do not think the tag will be able to power on again and let us know Wallace’s whereabouts. There is no indication that Wallace has perished as the tag’s temperature remained normal. 

BB’s tag transmitted locations over the weekend showing that he remained in Chad.  Meanwhile, we have not received any further transmissions from Roy's tag since the 6 October. Whilst we had no cause for concern for Wallace when his tag last transmitted on the 14 September, the longer the silence continues, the more we wonder why.

It is now two weeks since we last heard from Wallace’s tag, when its charge was very low and unconfirmed locations suggested he may have left to the SE. We had expected to hear more by now but as the tag’s charge was so low, it is still possible that he is in a location where it can’t charge. We may yet hear more about Wallace’s travels and are keeping our fingers crossed for him.

Since we last received a location for Wallace in northern Italy (9 September) we have received two unconfirmed locations that suggest he has left Italy in a SE direction and may be taking a route east of the Adriatic. This would make him the third Cuckoo to do so, following David and Roy. The charge on his tag was very low when the last one was received on Friday 14 September so we may have to wait a while before he pops up somewhere else and we get a better idea of his movements.

There have been no movements of note from our Cuckoos in the last few days. Transmissions have been received from Indy and Chance today and Lloyd, David, Wallace, Roy, BB and Chris in the last few days. Hopefully there will be more to report after the weekend! 

Unconfirmed signals suggest that Wallace has moved 30km (18 miles) northeast, placing him 7 miles west of the shores of Lake Garda. 

Wallace was still in Switzerland on 1 September but by early this morning (3 September) he had moved to a location in northern Italy, about 17km (11 miles) west of the south end of Lake Garda and about 10km (6 miles) SE of Brescia. This location is at the northern edge of the Po floodplain, just south of the foothills of the Alps. He is there much later than the other Cuckoos who have used the floodplain to prepare for their desert crossing – the other Cuckoos that have used the Po watershed later in the season have tended to use the foothills rather than the floodplain, so we hope he will be able to find the remaining food he needs to fuel his migration. 

Wallace remains in Switzerland but appears to have moved south a small distance. Transmissions from his tag on August 27 show that he is around 10km (6 miles) south from Lake Brienz.

Between 14 and 16 August Wallace moved approximately 140km (88 miles) S from his location in southern Germany to the northern foothills of the Alps in Switzerland, between Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Lucerne. He was still in this area when we last heard from him (Saturday 18 August)  - we are receiving few high quality locations so it is difficult to pin him down precisely but he is most likely in or close to a valley near the town of Schüpfheim.  

Wallace has flown 55km (35 miles) southwest within Germany and is now close to the village of Lauterbach in the Black Forest near Schramberg.  Mungo’s last transmission on 29 July locates him near Lake Chad but we haven’t received any further signals from him. BB is also in Chad and we last heard from him on 13 August.  

Wallace is still in south-western Germany but by the morning of Friday 3 August he had moved approximately 95km (63 miles) ENE to a similar forested landscape.

On Saturday morning (28 July) Wallace was still in Picardie but according to a series of unconfirmed locations, by the early hours of this morning (30 July) he had moved 390km (243 miles) ESE to a location in extreme south-western Germany. If these prove to be correct, he is approximately 23km (13 miles) NE of the Petite Camargue Alsacienne - a research station in the south-eastern corner of France where Valentin Amrhein and his group from University of Basel have undertaken exciting research on the function of Nightingale song. He appears to be in a forested landscape to the east of the river valley containing the Nightingales.

Wallace remains in the region of Picardie, but has moved a small distance in a south-easterly direction. He is now 11km ( 7miles) south of Tergnier and less than 1 km away from ‘Circuit de Folembray’ racetrack. He is presumably resting up from his long flight from Scotland.

On Friday morning (20 July) a location from Wallace showed that he had finally left Scotland and was in the Lake District, 8.5km (5 miles) east of Keswick. Just as it was getting light on Saturday morning he was 5km (3 miles) east of Wigan and just as it was getting light this morning (23 July) he was in France, south west of Montdidier, Picardie, 558km (347 miles) south east of his last stop in the UK. Of all five of the Scottish tagged Cuckoos, Wallace has taken the most westerly route out of the UK.

Having still been in north-eastern France on Wednesday, by first thing this morning John had moved 290km (180 miles) due S. His new location is just west of the south end of the Jura Mountains 32km (20 miles) NNW of Oyonnax and 61k (38 miles) NW of Geneva. As he moves into southern Europe, he leaves Chance (still south of Berlin according to an confirmed location received Thursday – his tag is not charging well and we might expect him to move south soon) and Wallace (still near Troon on Wednesday evening) as our only Cuckoos (excluding Idemili) left in northern Europe.

With the exception of Roy, there has been little recent movement by the Cuckoos tagged in Scotland - Wallace remains in Ayrshire; BB remains in north-eastern Italy; Mungo remains in Switzerland close to Mont Blanc; Chance remains just south of Berlin.

Signals received on 4 July showed that Wallace had skipped over the border into England. He moved 62km (39 miles) ENE transmitting from the area surrounding Harwood Forest in Northumberland.

Having moved to dead on the border between England and Scotland 14km (9 miles) NE of Gretna on 30 June, Wallace had hopped across it by 3 July. By 4 July he had moved 62km (39 miles) ESE and appeared to be moving around the area surrounding Harwood Forest in Northumberland. He didn’t stay there long though and by 6 July he had moved 172km (107 miles) WNW back to the location that he had occupied during the second half of June! This is the second time Wallace has moved south only to retrace his steps back north – we can only assume that the new locations he has visited have not been suitable and he has decided to cut his losses and return to the presumably superior feeding grounds here.

Both Wallace and Roy remain in Scotland whilst the three other Scottish birds are currently in Europe. Transmissions received yesterday indicated that Wallace was heading southwards. He moved 30km (20 miles) from his position between Irvine and Troon and was close to the village of Patna. From here he headed off in a south-easterly direction, flying 110km (70miles) before transmitting from Canonbie. He is very close to the Scottish-English border.

On 12 June Wallace was still close to his tagging location. By 14 June, however, he had moved 154km (95 miles) due S to a location east of Stranraer. He didn’t stay there though and by that evening he had moved north again, to a location between Troon and Irvine, 80km (50 miles) to the north. He was still there when we last heard from his tag in the evening of 18 June.

Wallace is an adult male Cuckoo of at least two years of age. He was caught and had his satellite tag fitted on the southern shore of Loch Katrine, Stirling, on 15 May 2012.