Farewell Flappy

At 20:17 and 24 seconds China time on 17 May 2018 we received what we think will be the last transmission from a satellite tag fitted to a Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) named Flappy McFlapperson.

The transmission was the last of a series since 14 May that showed two important pieces of information: first, increasing temperature fluctuations and second, a rapidly depleting battery charge.  The first information is significant; a healthy bird’s body temperature will offset the fluctuations in ambient temperature from day to night, meaning that the temperature of the tag remains relatively constant.  Significant fluctuations in temperature are a tell-tale sign that all is not well.  The second piece of information about battery depletion, in itself, is not necessarily a bad sign but when combined with the temperature data, it adds weight to the view that something is amiss.  Whilst, theoretically, these symptoms could occur if the tag becomes detached from the body, this scenario is unlikely given the design of the harness used.  Sadly, the conclusion must be that Flappy McFlapperson perished sometime during the night of 14-15 May 2018.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Flappy McFlapperson, or “Flappy” as she was affectionately known, will be missed by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people around the world.

It was on 24 May 2016, at Cuihu Urban Wetland in northern Beijing, that the first cuckoo, a female, was fitted with a tag as part of the Beijing Cuckoo Project, a collaboration between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (BWRRC), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Birding Beijing, and supported by the British Birds Charitable Trust, the Oriental Bird Club, Zoological Society of London and BirdLife International.  The project was designed to combine scientific discovery with public engagement.  The aims were twofold: first, to find out, for the first time, where cuckoos from East Asia spent the winter and how they got there, and second, to reach and enthuse the public about the incredible journeys made by Beijing’s birds (BTO’s work tracking cuckoos from the UK has demonstrated the potential for these iconic birds to engage and enthuse new audiences about the science of bird migration).

Shortly after being fitted with a tag, students at Dulwich International School in Beijing put forward, and voted on, names during an assembly.  The story of “Flappy McFlapperson” had begun.

Flappy was about to begin an incredible journey, not only in terms of her migration from Beijing to Africa, via her breeding grounds in the Onon Balj Basin National Park in northern Mongolia, but also in terms of the number of people she would reach in China and around the world, most of whom probably wouldn’t, ordinarily, take an interest in migratory birds.

Her following was modest to begin with as she spent a relatively uneventful summer in Mongolia, close to the Russian border.  However, through regular social media in China and overseas, and articles in more traditional print and online media, she began to attract more and more followers as people marvelled at her incredible autumn migration that took her from northern Mongolia, across China and, via Yunnan Province, into South Asia, spending time in Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Nepal.  When she set off across the Arabian Sea, she provoked an outpouring of awe and admiration that a Cuckoo from Beijing could make such a journey to Africa.

Of course, Flappy and her kind have been making this journey for millennia, so it was routine for her.  But for humans, discovering for the first time to where these birds migrate and the route they took to get there, the reaction was like a child unwrapping a wonderful new gift – faces lit up, voices rose excitedly and her followers, many of whom had never before taken notice of nature, began talking about the wonders of migratory birds.

Flappy continued through the Horn of Africa, ultimately settling in Mozambique for the northern winter before returning via a similar route the following spring.

Since being fitted with her tag, in a nice symmetry, she has crossed 61 international borders involving 16 countries: China, Mongolia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and DRC (Congo).  That list is better than most gap-year students’ backpacking adventures and her journey was made without the assistance of powered transport, or the necessity of a passport or visas.

Flappy was an ambassador.  She linked the Great Wall with the Taj Mahal, Jaipur with Mogadishu and Cuihu Urban Wetland with the Arabian Sea.  As one loyal follower on Twitter remarked, her most recent position – and it seems final resting place – around 100km north of Mandalay and c30km east of the Irrawaddy River recalls Rudyard Kipling’s “Road to Mandalay”, the last words of which are:

“Oh the road to Mandalay,
⁠Where the flyin’-fishes play,
⁠An’ the dawn comes up like thunder out China ‘crost the Bay!”

Flappy linked China and Africa and was even touted as an ambassador for one of China’s most prominent foreign policy priorities – the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, revitalising the traditional trade links between China and that great continent.

Over time, Flappy’s following grew and grew, with media articles about the Beijing Cuckoo Project in the Beijing Evening News, Beijing Science and Technology Magazine, Xinhua (more than a million hits online), Times of India, Hindustan Times, Daily News and Analysis (DNA) India, African Times, The Diplomat, The World of Chinese, GBTimes (Russia), BBC Wildlife Magazine and many more, including of course the front page of The New York Times (brilliantly titled “Cynical avian freeloader wins some respect”).

As recently as last week, her following in China multiplied thousands-fold after prominent bloggers enthused about her journey online, prompting three more media articles, including the one below in Beijing’s most popular newspaper, the Beijing Youth Daily.

The Beijing Tourism Board published a note to welcome Flappy to Beijing and a partially-sighted artist created the wonderful picture below to celebrate Flappy’s migration.

The reach of the project has been way beyond our wildest dreams.

I know many scientists baulk at the thought of emotional attachments to their study subjects and, whilst I understand that perspective, I find it impossible not to feel a connection to this remarkable bird.  In fact, I actively encourage it.  If we are to stem the human-induced rate of species extinction and habitat loss, conservationists must get better at reaching beyond their own circles to enthuse more people about the wonders of the natural world.  Technology is opening up a new era of discovery and it’s an unprecedented opportunity to involve the public in science and thus engage a new generation of people about the natural world.  In my view, a good scientist is one who views public engagement as an essential part of his or her work.

Flappy has certainly more than played her part, connecting millions of people to migratory birds and if just one of those people is, or goes on to be, in a position of power and makes a decision that takes into account migratory birds and their habitats, it will be an incredible legacy for a remarkable bird.

With thanks to Chris Buckley, I end this celebration of Flappy’s life with some words from a poem, “The Death of The Bird” by A.D. Hope.  The full text can be found here but the poem begins:

“For every bird there is this last migration…”

and ends:

“And darkness rises from the eastern valleys,

And the winds buffet her with their hungry breath,

And the great earth, with neither grief nor malice, 

Receives the tiny burden of her death.”

 

RIP Flappy.

 

 

Title image: Flappy McFlapperson, a female Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) fitted with a satellite tag at Cuihu Urban Wetland, Beijing, on 24 May 2016.  Died 14 or 15 May 2018 in Myanmar, c100km north of Mandalay.  Age unknown.  RIP.

 

Chinese/中文

 

永别， Flappy ！