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Glen's Autumn Migration 2008 |
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DATE |
NOTES
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Resume |
The chicks hatched from about 12th
June; and two of them survived; they were ringed on 24th
July and Glen flew for the first time about 8th August. The
two chicks ranged much more than last year's female young
and were to be found, when away from the nest, in trees
surrounding the area up to 700 metres away. The male
regularly brought in fish, while Logie protected the nest
site and sometimes fed the young. In the last week, at least
one and once two intruder chicks sat on the nest and tried
to scrounge food. Glen departed on 26th August, nearly three
weeks after fledging. This is quite short post fledging
period. |
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From here - latest
dates at top to save scrolling |
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15th September |
Nothing new has come in for Glen but I
will continue to check his radio on the Argos system - he
may have flown on and been lost, but it's impossible to be
definite, and one never knows. A honey buzzard with a solar
transmitter went silent after the 7th September, and then
suddenly this morning after the weekend's sun, in come
strong signals from a new location in Lancashire. So the
story is not complete yet - is he still there somewhere? |
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11th Sept |
Still no signals but I gather it's
been three days of overcast weather and heavy rain - and a
similar but larger transmitter on a golden eagle in Donegal
has given no signals because of the lack of sun. So hoping
for improved weather soon. |
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10th September |
No signals today but a really overcast
grey day with rain. Micheal Casey checked out the roost area
today - he reports
"I had a look in the afternoon at
the site near Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon which the
references lead to, using my car's Sat-Nav to find it.
It is a small line of cypress trees in a large young
Sitka Spruce plantation, on the edge of a bog (see
attached pics). The Sitkas are about 12' high, the
Cypresses approx 25'-30'. It looks like a shelter belt
that may have been planted around a farmhouse which is
now derelict/demolished and whose farm has been planted
all around it in the past decade or so. The undergrowth
is very dense ( a mass of brambles), and the heather is
quite high and dense in the bog, so it is not easily
accessible. I did not approach the roost, but could see
nothing with binoculars."
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9th September |
Contacts in Ireland report it poured
with rain all morning, but later improved and today (10th is
overcast but clear). Data didn't give more information other
than that Glen roosted over night in the same area south of
Frenchpark, and then moved a small distance to a daytime
perches in the morning. |
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Glen's
track 5th - 8th September |
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8th September |
The first GPS signals were at 10 and
11am, when Glen was 300 metres north of his overnight roost.
Hopefully he has caught fish in the lakes and rivers of this
region of Ireland. |
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Glen travelling from Lough
Allen into Co Roscommon 7th September |
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8th Sept |
Glen was still at the
south end of Lough Allen until 11am. Hopefully, he had
caught a fish. Don Cotton telephoned and said they would
have a look for the osprey, and told me these lakes
are excellent for coarse fish, such as rudd and bream. At
midday he was flying at 15km/h along the river south of the
Lough, and an hour later was perched in trees at the west
end of Fin Lough. At 2pm he was perched a couple of hundred
metre from another small lake, and at 3pm had moved further
SSW and was perched on the dge of a small wood by another
small river. At 4-5 pm he was perched south of
Lough Gara and just over one mile NW of Bellangore in Co
Roscommon, about 8 miles NW of Tulsk. Glen roosted the night
a little further south. |
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Glen's
migration track to 7th September. |
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6th September |
Glen flew on SW into Ireland, and by
5.30pm had reached the southern end of Lough Allen, in
County Leitrim. This is an excellent area of lakes for
ospreys and is a good place for fishing. The weather has
improved and stopped raining, with a fresh north wind. Glen
now needs time to catch fish and feed up. He is in a
difficult predicament because he is at such a western longtitude,
and if he continues with his present heading he will end up
out in the Atlantic Ocean. Ideally, he needs to spend a good
number of days feeding up and then fly SE back towards Wales
or SW England and onto France. It is possible for him to
fly from Ireland to Spain, but it is about 1000 kilometres
of open ocean and needs good weather and luck to make a
successful landfall. We wish him well. |
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5th September |
First signals showed he was on the SW
corner of Rathlin between 7am and 9am, and the latest non
GPS signal was on the Northern Irish mainland, north of
Ballymoney. Where will he go in Ireland - will he try to
fly from the south coast to Spain, or hopefully back via
Wales. Latest! 3.30pm -
he is heading in wrong direction - flying downwind (NE wind
12mph with rain and poor visibility) and headed for Newtown
Stewart, Strabane.
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4th September |
Glen was at the roost until 8am, then
flew south along the shore to Rubha a'Mhill, south of
Bunnahabhainn and was there from 9am to 10am, and midday,
while at 11am he was back at her roost site. I hope he was
fishing along the shore. At 1pm he was further north along
the coast north of Port Askaig, and at 3pm was near the
Lighthouse at Carraig Mhor on Dunlossit. Then he set off on
migration; flying S at 54km/h over Glas Bheinn at 4pm and
flying SSE over Loch Kinnabus, on The Oa, southern tip of
Islay. He crossed the 19 miles of sea to reach Rathlin
island in Northern Ireland by 6pm, where he roosted
overnight on the north coast of the island. |
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Glen's tour of the Inner
Hebrides 3rd September |
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3rd September |
Glen was at Loch Tulla until 11am,
then with improving weather he set off flyying SSW at 37km/h
some miles away at midday; at 1pm he was north of Bonawe,
crossing Loch Etive, passed over Lismore and reached SE
corner of Morvern at 2pm, when he was flying N at 24km/h. At
3pm he was very close to the Mull Sea Eagle site at Loch
Frisa, where Breagha and Mara - the two chicks are flying -
he probably saw them, turning SW he was flying S over the
sea south of the Isle of Ulva at 4pm and at 5pm had just
crossed the Ross of Mull and was flying S at 51 km/h some
1800 feet above the sea - atlast heading south in the right
direction for Africa. Flew over Colonsay and reached the
north tip of Islay at 6pm, when flying S at 43km/h. Glen
finished his day's flight by 7pm, when he was roosting in
wooded cliffs north of CaolIla whisky distillery on the east
coast of islay. Day's flight 166 kilometres. |
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2nd September |
Glen has spent the whole day aound Loch Tulla. |
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1st September |
Glen has spent the day at Loch Tulla,
near Black Mount in Argyll. |
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30th August |
Roosted overnight near Loch Vennachar,
then set off south-west after 9am to reach area south of
Loch Ard, where stayed from 11am to 2pm. At 3pm he was
flying north, almost certainly in rainy overcast weather, at
34km/h to the west of Kinlochard; at 4pm was further north
travelling N at 37km/h and reached a roosting in woods area
just north of the A85 road just 2 miles west of Tyndrum.
Today 31st, it's forecast overcast with light rain but no
wind. Sadly, Glen has run into poor weather conditions for migration,
just like its brother, - they should have stayed at their
nest and waited for good weather. |
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Glen's flight on 30th August |
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26th August |
A nice warm day in Moray, and I
checked Logie's nest at midday, no sign of either chick, but
there was an unringed chick on the nest hoping to scrounge
fish from the male. I had another look at 5pm, and then the
male 6R was perched in the dead Scots pine eating a medium
sized flounder, and the unringed chick was squeaking for
food on Logie's eyrie. |
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26th August |
Data received early today showed that
both chicks departed their nest area during yesterday, and
by evening Glen was roosting in a pinewood in Glen
Livet near Tomintoul. |
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27th August |
At 11am he was flying ESE above half a
mile off the coast at Fowlsheaugh, south of Stonehaven; an
hour later he was 17 miles SE out over the North Sea, but
turned back and from midday to 1pm was perched on the coast
near Kinneff. Glen then headed back inland and roosted the
night on the River North Esk near Auchmull. |
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28th August |
At 10am set off SSW, west of Ogil at
11am and reached a little river south of the Loch of
Lintrathen in Angus at 1pm. He was north of Blairgowrie at
2pm and an hour later was just NW of the Loch of the Lowes
SWT reserve in Perthshire; she roosted overnight in forests
on the west side of the River Tay just north of Dunkeld. |
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29th August |
He carried on slowly in a SW
direction, spending time on Loch Earn and by evening had
reached Loch Venachar, just north of Aberfoyle, and he
stayed to roost overnight. The Forestry Commission have
several nests on their land in this area and have an osprey
centre in the Queen Elizabeth Forest nearby. |
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Glen's
First Migration |
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