Highland Foundation for Wildlife

This summer, he started refurbishing his nest in early April - he was one of the first males back in the Forres area. The female from last year returned between 16th and 22nd April, and by 11th May she was incubating eggs. They went on to rear three young, which was excellent success.

After many attempts to try to catch a male for satellite tracking, I caught red/white 7J on the Findhorn Bay saltmarsh on 1st September 2008. As I went to take him from my trap, a RAF Nimrod aircraft flew low over my head as it went in to land at the nearby RAF Kinloss airbase. The ospreys know these planes very well and do not even look up, when they are hunting flounders in the bay, even though the massive plane is just a few hundred feet above them. I decided Nimrod would be a good name for red/white 7J - it conveys the meaning "a mighty hunter".

He was in excellent condition - wing 482 mm, tail 215 mm and weighed 1509 grams - he was already getting plump with fat for his migration. With the help of Ian Suttie and Moira Hickey, I fitted a 30 gram Microwave solar transmitter, number 84129. After taking a few photographs he flew off over the bay and heading inland, and the first two day's transmissions showed he returned to his nest and was then tracked hunting in the bay and along the Culbin Bars, and taking fish back to the young at his nest.

Nimrod from RAF Kinloss

Nimrod close up

Nimrod caught at Findhorn bay

Active migration journeys are given with latest date information at top of table

Nimrod's Autumn Migration 2008
DATE	NOTES
Resume	Nimrod has continued to take fish back regularly to his three young at his nest. When the weather out on the coast and in Findhorn bay is poor, he visits a trout fishery near Glenferness. The female was still there until the 24th August and on a visit in nice weather on 12th September I saw two of the chicks near the eyrie. Both were very alert and quickly saw me and gave alarm calls. Maybe the oldest had already departed. Once Nimrod sets off on migration - we will update this page - it will be very interesting to follow an adult male osprey in great detail - it will the first time we have done so and it will be fascinating to see if there are differences compared to the females - Logie, Beatrice and Morven.
2nd - 10th November	Settled in wintering area; on 3rd he was on the other side of the river 3.2 kilometres from main roost; at 4pm on 6th he was 3 kilometres to the north and last evening he was fishing in mid river.
1st November	Nimrod fully settled into winter quarters - roosting at night in same trees on edge of woodland on south site; spending part of day up in the creeks, and one fix on probable fishing activity - flying north over the estuary at 36 km/h at 21 metres about 500 metres from the shore at 8 am on 29th October.
	Nimrod's daily movements 23rd -27th October
21st -28th October	Nimrod is now settled firmly in his winter quarters - his routine is very similar from day to day; roosting at night in the southern magroves and visiting the creeks a few kilometres north during the day; his furthest flight was a few kilometres across the river.
19th - 20th October	On both days Nimrod had the same activity, roosting overnight in the southern mangroves, and then moving a few kilometres north during the day, presumably to fish. On the 20th, he was in mid channel of the estuary of the River Cassini, and by nightfall was back at the usual roost site. It is certainly looking as though this will be his wintering site, and from his behaviour I would guess he was here last winter.
	Nimrod's movements from roost to feeding & loafing sites and back to roost on 18th October
18th October	Nimrod roosted again in mangrove swamps along the estuary close to last night's roost and in the morning moved out onto the edge of water; after midday he flew north again to the small inlet, and at night returned to the same roost. His day's movement point to point of his hourly GPS positions was 4.56 kilometres. This is looking very much like his wintering site.
17th October	Nimrod spent all day in an area of mangrove swamps on the south side of a river estuary, upstream from the village of Cachine in southern Guinea Bissau. During the middle of the day he moved 2 kilometres to the north and spent time close to a small river running into the swamps. The weather forecast was for rain showers, light west wind, temperature 31 to 33 degrees C - some difference to Findhorn Bay! Sunrise is at 5.48am and sunset 5.40pm. This may be his wintering area and will be confirmed by his local movements in the next couple of days. He is now 5250 kilometres (3266 miles) from his nesting area.
	Nimrod's flight 15th and 16th October
16th October	He was still on the island at 7am, and at 8am was perched further south in the riverine forest. At 9am he had restarted migrating and was flying SE at 33km/h. Ar 10am he was perched again and then he carried on south,and at midday and 1pm was flying strongly south at 48km/h at an altitude between 115 and 403 metres. At 2pm he was perched by the big river in southern Guinea Bissau and at 4pm he was only 10 kilometres from the Guinea border in southern Bissau. Interestingly, he was just 80 kilometres east of Isla Roxa, Logie's wintering site. His day's flight was 94 kilometres and he must be getting close to his wintering site.
	Nimrod's roost on island in River Geba, Guinea Bissau 15th/16th October
15th October	At midday, Nimrod was flying east at 51km/h, at 160 metres above the lowlands of Senegal; at 2pm he crossed the southern Casamanche river and entered Guinea Bissau. At 3pm he was over the headwaters of the River Cacheu flying SE at 45km/h and he had gained height to 577 metres. He carried on south and at 6pm had settled on a small island of trees in the River Geba. Nimrod spent the night here after a day's flight of 186 kilometres.
	Nimrod's flight 13th to 15th October
15th October	Nimrod is going further south. He left his roost on the river after 9am, and an hour later was well into southern Senegal, flying SE at 29 km/h. The last signal of the batch today was at 11am, when he was flying East at 35km/h near Koumbamo, heading for the north branch of the Casamanche river, some 50 kilometres NE of Siguinchor. Where is he going to stop - he's getting close to Logie's wintering site in Guinea Bissau!
	Nimrod's roost on the Gambia River 14th -15th October
14th October	Nimrod moved from his roost after 7am, and at 8am was perched in the desert 19 kilometres to the south. Soon after he crossed the Senegal River, near Rosso, and at 9am was flying low (30 metres) over the freshwater lake, Lac De Giers, which supplies Dakar (the capital of Senegal) with fresh water. At 10am he was at the south end of the lake flying strongly S at 310 metres and he continued this direction, at 1pm he was flying south at 80km/h at 1647 metres. He passed over the town of Diourbel with its beautiful blue roofed mosque. Just after 3pm, Nimrod crossed the Saloum River (a favourite wintering area for many ospreys) and at 5pm he had crossed into The Gambia, where at 6pm he was perched in the swamps on the south side of the main river north of Bwiam, he then flew 3 kilometres west to a roost beside a small tributary of the river, near Dambutto. His day's flight was 400 kilometres. I wonder if this might be his wintering area - it's certainly good for fish.
	Nimrod's detour to the Atlantic Coast of southern Mauritania 13th October
13th October	From 6 to 9am Nimrod was perched in the desert 1.5 kilometres from the night time roost; then he started flying towards the Atlantic Ocean. At 11am he was perched about a kilometre inland from the coast, and I wonder if he had been fishing and was eating. At midday, Nimrod was flying east about 2 kms offshore but had climbed to 534 metres above the sea, an hour later he was further down the coast and then turned inland over the deserts again. At 2pm, he was flying at 39km/h SSW at 1601 metres, and he kept flying at high altitude to the south, at 4pm he was flying at 38km/h SE at 1749 metres and two hours later he was roosting in stony ridges in the semi-desert, about 9 kilometres north of Keur Nala. His day's flight was 153 kilometres and he is heading for Senegal.
	Nimrod's flight 11th -12th October - & Morven's location
12th October	Nimrod was still at roost at 8am, and then appeared to fly some distances south-west and perch again, and did not start continuous migration until later in the morning, and at midday was flying SW at 59 km/h at 951 metres and an hour later was still heading for the Atlantic Ocean coast. But after 1pm he turned south, missing the opportunity to fish at the coast, and flew SSE for the next four hours over the Mauritania deserts at altitudes of 158 to 416 metres and speeds of 35 to 60 km/h. About 3pm his flight south was just 20 kilometres east of Morven's position on the coast and at 5pm he was 25 kilometres east of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. An hour later he stopped to roost in the desert. His day's flight by this time was 252 kilometres. He appears to be headed for Senegal, rather than the Mauritanian coasts.
11th October	Nimrod restarted his migration at 9am and for the next three hours flew SW at 53 to 72 kilometres per hour over the Sahara Desert. Next signal at 2pm after he had passed into northern Mauritania; by now he was flying at altitudes over 1000 metres heading over the deserts and reached an overnight roosting site in open plains after 6pm. His day's flight was 412 kilometres.
10th October	At 7am, he set off over the desert, stopped an hour later, and then set off strongly on a SSW migration, he passed into Northern Mauritania at 11am, and during this three hour period was flying at 80 to 85km/h SSW at 800 to 900 metre altitude. At 2pm, he crossed the border into Western Sahara at 1329 metres, and at 5pm was back in Mauritania flying at 43km/h SSE at 1235 metres and two hours later settled for his night roost in open deserts in Western Sahara, about 4o kilometres west of the huge iron ore mine at Fderik. Today's migration was all over hostile open deserts, stony plains and rocky mountains ridges. The day's flight was 567 kilometres
	Nimrod's non-stop 35 hour migration 8th - 9th October
9th October	Nimrod had flown over the whole of Spain by moonlight - the first fix of the day (the transmitter's GPS is off from 8pm - 6am GMT) showed he had flown at least 782 kilometres overnight and was 113 kilometres from the Andalucian coast flying at 18km/h SW over the Atlantic Ocean towards Morocco. During the night it appears his SW heading took him over Madrid and he crossed the coast at Mazagon, at the mouth of the river at Huelva, about 4am. It was perfect conditions for a night flight with clear skies and a nearly full moon, but intentional night flights over land by ospreys is very unusual. He covered 782 kilometres in the 10 hour flight, which is a mean speed of 78kms/h, which meant he had picked up favourable tailwinds. He clearly knew his route and high over Andalucia he would have seen the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. It is interesting that he then set off SW to Morocco for a 690 kilometre flight over the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of Morocco at Essaouira, which meant that he avoided flying over the series of high mountains in Morocco. Over the ocean, he was flying between 58 and 483 metres above the sea at speeds between 56 and 90 km/h. His route was direct and he came ashore at Assaouira at 2pm, he had passed Agadir by 4pm and then flew down the coast, before heading south into the deserts and finally came to roost near Leimadrat in South Morocco. This was an incredible 2300 kilometre migration flight, non-stop in about 35 hours, at an average speed of 68 kilometres per hour. He had obviously decided that it was time to get to Africa and his winter quarters after his 12 day stop-over on the French coast. After this flight, Nimrod (the might hunter) could also be called the mighty navigator!
	Nimrod's 462 kilometre flight on 8th October
8th October	This proved to be the start day of an incredible non-stop migration. Nimrod was at usual roost until 8am (local time), then a little to the NW probably eating a fish at 9am, and an hour later was at the south end of the island flying SSE at 42km/h. At 11am, he was 42 kms south and had crossed the outer estuary of the River Gironde, about 800 metres offshore, 112 metres above the sea. At midday, he was near the reserve, Etang d'Cousseau (where one of our colour ringed adult ospreys has been reported by the warden) and at 1pm was flying SSE at 63km/h at 486metres over Pyla-s-Mer, Arcachon. He was over Etang de Bicarrosse at 2pm and near Lit-et-Mixe an hour later. At 4pm, he had changed heading to the south to fly round the west end of the Pyrenees, and was flying SSW at 56km/h at 166metres inland of Hossegor. At 5pm he was flying at 54km/h SW just south of Ustaritz and then flew over the border into Spain. At 6pm, Nimrod was flying SSW at 69km/h near Imotz, he passed 10 kilometres west of Pamplona. At 7pm he was near Calahorra flying SSW at 72 km/h and at 8pm he was still flying SW, at 65 km/h at 1239 metres altitude 25 kilometres SW of Tudela. His day's journey to this point was 462 kilometres. By chance, I was further west in the Cantabrian mountains; it had been a lovely day with completely clear skies in the evening, with a bright moon, after a few days of poor weather.
2nd - 7th October	Nimrod remained throughout this period in the same area - roosting in forests at south end of the island and feeding in the estuary. On night of 2nd/3rd, he roosted in woods on the mainland south of the island and also visited that area on 6th. The weather on the 7th was wet and cold in the Bay of Biscay, with some heavy rain showers.
	Nimrod on Ile d'Oleron
30th Sept - 1st October	Nimrod settled down in the woods at the south end of the island; at 10am on 30th September he was flying over fish ponds to the south of Ors, and next day at 1pm he was perched out on the estuary, just south of the road bridge to the mainland.

28th - 29th September	All day 28th in same area and roosted overnight 28th/29th in same woodland; on 29th was at roost until 10am and at 11am was flying NE low over the bay south of point. By 1pm he had flown south over La Rochelle and was circling at 349 metres east of Marennes. At 3pm he was further west, perched by a small lake west of Diree and then flew north over the Foret de la Coubre. At 5pm Nimrod was perched in woodland at the south end of the big island, Ile d'Oleron.

27th September	Nimrod spent the whole day on the estuary and headland north of La Rochelle; the map above shows his day's stop-over - he left his roost in woodlands on the headland and spent all day near the spit, and in the sheltered shallow water of the estuary. In the evening he flew back two kilometres or so to roost in the woods slightly north of the previous night's roost.
	Nimrod's flight along the French coast
26th September	At 7am, he was flying at 36kms/h SE over the sea off Le Porteau, and at 8am - 9am was perched in a wood west of Jard-sur-Mer. Nimrod carried on along the coast and appeared to be fishing in the estuary of the River Lay at 11am, and for the next two hours was perched on the mud flats inside the spit. This is just north of La Rochelle.
25th September	Nimrod left the roost after 7am, and was perched in trees some distance south an hour later; at 9am he was flying for the coast at 39kms/h and at 10am appeared to be fishing in the outer parts of Baia di Plouharnel, and at 11 am was perched on a post in the nearby mudflats at the base of the Quiberon peninsula. Nimrod then island hopped by the way of the Iles d'Houat and Hoedic, and then across the sea to Le Crosic. At 2pm, he crossed the estuary of the Loire river (which upstream passes through the French osprey breeding area around Orleans) just outside Saint Nazaire. At 3pm, he was flying at 57kms/h along the coast at 765 metres altitude, and 2 hours later he was perched in a salt marsh at L'Ille d'Olonne, and during the evening moved 3 kilometres inland to a woodland roost. His day's leisurely flight was 207 kilometres.

24th September	Nimrod showed the great ability of experienced adult ospreys to know where they want to go. He was away soon after dawn, without fishing, and by 7am was 23 miles SE, after crossing the Gower Peninsula he was out over the sea heading for North Devon, flying SSE at 52km/h at 650 feet above the waves. He came ashore near Combe Martin, just east of Ilfracombe, and headed down over the Devon farmlands flying SE at 52 kms/h and passed over Exeter, to fish in the upper Exe estuary opposite Exton at 10am. An hour later he was over Dawlish Warren and was flying south along the south Devon coast. At midday, Nimrod was 8 kilometres to the east of Start Point, heading SE out over the English Channel at 72km/h picking up tail winds. Two hours later he was flying at 63kms/h SSE at 600 feet above the sea. He came ashore on the Brittany coast at Perros Guirec, and kept flying SSE to reach his overnight stop near Bourron. At 6pm he was fishing along the river Blavet, and an hour later was up on a wooded hillside probably eating a fish and then moved lower near the river to roost overnight. His day's flight was 278 miles. Nimrod showed the way to fly from South Wales confidently to Devon, visited a good place to fish at midday, and then safely crossed a wide part of the Channel to France. Tomorrow's forecast in France is early morning fog clearing to bright sunny day with light north winds. Nimrods' roost in Brittany

23rd September	He was already flying south at 47 kms/h at 7am, just to the northwest of Pwllheli, and then flew south out into Tremadog Bay , and then coasted down Cardigan Bay. At 8am flying SSW at 43kms/h and an hour later at 53kms/h, and then turned into the Welsh coast just north of Carmarthen. He flew on to the south coast and reached Carmarthen Bay at 10am. He spent the rest of the day along this coast and roosted in Pembrey Forest. A day's flight of 108 miles.
22nd September	Nimrod roosted near his nest near Forres overnight, and then flew to the trout fishery near Glenferness. He was in that area from 8 am to 11am, and at midday he set off on migration, being ten miles south near Lochindorb flying ESE at 34 kms/hr. A high pressure system was bringing in colder weather and fresh winds from the north, and clear skies. At 1pm he was flying south over Braeriach at 1280 metres, straight over the Cairngorm Mountains flying fast to the south. He reached Perth at 3pm, flying SSE at 40 km/h at 890 metres over the Tay, then crossed the Firth of Forth and flew over Edinburgh, and onto Peebles-shire passing over the breeding grounds of the Border ospreys. At 7pm, he crossed the Solway estuary, just east of Annan, into England, and then flew out over the Irish Sea south of St Bees Head. At 9pm he was midway between Blackpool and the Isle of Man flying south at 51kms/h, 90 metres above the sea. He must have reached the Isle of Anglesey after dark, but with moonlight found a roosting site. A day's flight of 320 miles.
21st Sept	Nimrod at nest and several flights to and from the trout fishery at Glenferness.
	Nimrod's two day trip to Montrose Bay and back home to Moray - 174 mile round trip
21st September	In the morning, I telephoned the nature reserve centre at Montrose Bay. They told me up to three ospreys had been fishing the bay earlier in the month, and they'd look out for Nimrod. There the weather was grey and overcast. Nimrod was still at the roost at 8am, and an hour later he was over a mile SE beside a small loch, presumably fishing. Then he amazed me; instead of staying there or setting off south he came back home! At 10am he was flying west at Cortachy, at 11am he was flying up Glen Clova at 49km/h heading north at 276 metres; at midday he was flying down Glen Muick at Balmoral, crossing the River Dee, he headed for the Lecht and was circling at Tomintoul at 1pm, and then rested on a hilltop above Glenliver until at least 3pm. At 4pm he was beside Loch of the Cowlatt on the Moray moors, just north of the Paul's Hill windfarm, and an hour later he was back at his nest near Forres, where he stayed and roosted overnight. Here it was a lovely day, fresh SE - S winds, clear skies with some clouds. Why did he come back? Did he think the weather further south was poor? Did he think he'd left a chick behind?
	Nimrod starts his migration 19th September
19th September	Nimrod roosted in Culbin Forest, near Cloddy Moss, overnight; he then flew south to the Glenferness Trout fishery near where he remained all morning, probably after eating. It was another grey day here today, with NE wind but during the morning it started to clear and by midday was bright and sunny. At 1pm, Nimrod was a few miles from the fishery flying east at 30km/h at 471 metres, and an hour later he was 18 miles to the SE, flying SE at 58 km/h, near Fodderletter, 3 miles from Tomintoul. He flew on through the Lecht, over Strathdon and at 3pm was fllying SE at 61km/h just N of Ballater, an hour later he was flying SSE at 38km/h near Cairn o'Mount and then turned south over the lowlands of Kincardineshire. At 5pm he was flying slowly along the shore at Montrose and turned into Montrose Basin, a SWT reserve, ideal fishing habitat for ospreys and similar to Findhorn Bay. He has started his migration and we know exactly when he set off. He made a direct flight on the eastern route avoiding the Cairngorms and roosted the night a few miles west of the estuary in scattered woodland.
17th - 18th Sept	Spent the days around Findhorn Bay, Culbin Bars and inland briefly at his nest on 17th, but by 18th last chick appears to have departed.
16th Sept	Nimrod roosted near his nest last night, and yesterday he was at the nest at 7am, 11am to 2pm and 7pm to 9pm (roosting) - he was at Glenferness fishery 7am, and on the Culbin Bars on the Moray coast from 3pm to 6pm. He's roosted at the nest site for last 4 nights but previously he roosted in Culbin forest well away from being bothered by three noisy chicks. It rather suggests most (all) of the chicks may have departed. But two awful days of low cloud and rain, may be the first clear sunny day will see him start his migration.