Special flight for cuckoo
Idemili the cuckoo
When birds migrate, they usually fly themselves. But for one cuckoo, found injured in south-west London, the flight to warmer climes was much more luxurious.
In a one of a kind migration 'catch-up', Idemili the cuckoo was flown to Turin by a British Airways 737, after being nursed back to health at Leatherhead's Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF). By the time she was fit enough to fly, the cuckoo population of Britain had already begun its long winter migration to Africa, so Idemili was fitted with a satellite tag and flown to Turin to catch-up with the rest of her kind.
Director of the WAF, Simon Cowell, said the bird had been found two weeks ago and was the only female ever fitted with a satellite tag by the British Trust for Ornithology.
He said: "All other tagged cuckoos are male. It was due to the tagging that WAF knew Idemili was the last cuckoo to leave England, as all the other tagged cuckoos had already migrated to warmer climes and were being tracked by satellite."
The bird was accompanied by veterinary nurse Lucy Kells, who said she had been found "in the nick of time." Picked up in Tolworth, south-west London, Idemili was brought in with a wounded wing, injured head and infested with parasites.
Cuckoos as a species are 'red listed', which means their survival is at risk. Half of the UK's breeding cuckoos have been lost in the past 25 years, making them one of the country's fastest declining migrant birds.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is inviting applications from veterinary students to attend a one-week extramural studies (EMS) placement in July 2026.
