| Migration Journey |
|
Younger Chick |
| |
|
Pre.
Mig'n |
Because of the chick's behaviour of
perching quietly in big trees near the nest for hours on end waiting for
the male to bring fish, the radio was not getting enough sun on the
solar panel, so the GPS was not functioning properly until the migration
flight charged up the battery. |
|
10th Sep |
The first signal that the chick was
migrating was received at 1014GMT from the Inner Forth near Grangemouth,
west of Edinburgh. This is 161 kms south of the nest site. Very
interestingly at 1000GMT, the older chick was at Alva, just 15-20
kilometres away, suggesting very strongly that the chicks set off
together early in the morning. It is a pity the radio battery was not
charged because it would have been very interesting to have checked how
the two birds migrated between the nest and central Scotland. |
|
10th Sep |
The radio signals were non GPS fixes
so they are not accurate but the chick moved east and was south of
Aberlady Bay, East Lothian at midday, and at 2pm was near Burnfoot in
the Borders. She then migrated south-west for 67 kilometres to the
Solway estuary and quite amazingly was over the Nith estuary at 1344BST,
where her mother had spent five weeks, but had departed between 6am and
7am - she had missed meeting her mother by seven hours or so!
|
|
10th Sep |
Her SSW heading took her out over the
Irish Sea; being 15 kms out to sea off Workington at 2.38pm, 41 kms WSW
of Blackpool just after 4pm, and at 4.53pm she was near Bwlchgwyn,
- west of Wrexham in Wales. The last signal of the day was a little
later just NW of Oswestry, so she did reach land after her first over
sea migration. Her days' flight was at least 557 kilometres, in
strongish northerly winds. |
|
11th Sep |
The first GPS was at 12am, when she
was flying south at 57kph between Pontypridd and Caerphilly in South
Wales; 143 kms south of last evening's last position. At 2pm she was
just NW of Barry in South Wales, flying SSE at 371metres and heading for
the Bristol Channel. By chance I was not far away on the Cotswold
escarpment above Cheltenham - it was a hot sunny day with some clouds
and a fresh N to NW wind, ideal conditions for raptor migration and I
kept an eye on the sky for passing ospreys but saw none. |
|
11th Sep |
At 3pm, she had crossed the Bristol
Channel and was south of Hinckley Point in Somerset; her mother had
crossed the Bristol Channel a bit further east a day earlier. An hour
later she was near Honiton flying south at 64kph and at 5pm she was
flying SSE out over the English Channel at 42kph and 210 metres, about
16 kms south of Seaton on the south Devon coast. She clearly got worried
because she turned back and by 6pm was perched just NW of Weymouth in
Dorset, about 4 kms from The Fleet. She stayed the night there. |
|
12th Sep |
No radio signals until 1100GMT when
she was 94 kms out over the English Channel heading for France on a SSW
heading. She was flying at 63kph at 77 metres over the sea; an hour
later she was 43 kms west of the Channel Isles still flying at 61kph.
She was still heading for Brittany at 1500GMT and at 1600GMT was
circling just NW of Morlaix. Slowly moving south she was just north of
Quimper at 1600GMT and settled for the night just north of Treogat.
A journey of 334 kilometres. |
|
13th Sep |
She was still at the roost site in
Brittany at 0600GMT but there were no signals until 1900GMT when she was
462 kilometres SSW over the Bay of Biscay heading for Galician coast in
Spain. She must have departed the French coast near Pointe de Penmarch.
At 2000GMT she was still flying SSW at 56kph, altitude 145 metres,
abpout 21 kms north of Golfo de Foz. She roosted overnight about 4 kms
inland after completing a 550 kilometre direct flight over the Bay of
Biscay - fortunately she hit land on the NW coast of Spain. |
|
14th Sep |
She was still at the roost at
0400GMT. Migration to date.
 |
|
14th Sep |
At roost until 0600GMT, then moved
7.5 kms inland where she sat around for several hours. At 1000GMT flying
SW and was south of Abadin in Lugo province; south of Lugo by 1100GMT
and an hour later flying S at 46kph along a large reservoir near
Portomartin. At 1300GMT, was flying south at 75kph at 926 metres in
hilly lands; passing Ourense before 1400GMT. An hour later was circling
over the south end of a large reservoir at Las Conchas. |
|
14th Sep |
1600GMT; last signal in this
transmission and she was flying SSW at 56kph, and had entered Portugal
and was near Vilarinho das Furnas. Her flight by this time was 219
kilometres so she was on active migration south. Will she stop-over in
Portugal or immediately head south for Africa; if she does will she head
out over the Atlantic Ocean for Moroco or veer into southern Spain.
Weather good. |
|
14th Sep |
She stopped to roost for the night 28
kms further south in scattered trees on a hill top near Povoa de Lanlosa,
where she stayed from 1700GMT until 0600GMT. Her day's flight was 247
kms. |
|
15th Sep |
At 0700 and 0800GMT she was perched
in trees 400 metres northwards on the same hill. Then she started flying
south. At 0900GMt she was perched beside a river near Briteiros, and
then flew steadily SSW at between 30 and 40kph, passing just east of
Porto at 1200GMT. An hour later she was perched on the Douro river near
Crestuma dam, but continued south passing Carvalho at 1500GMT and had
reached the large estuary and marshes north of Aveiro at 1600GMT. This
looks excellent habitat for ospreys and she roosted her overnight beside
a small river running into the marsh near Vilarinlo. |
|
16th Sep |
At 0700GMT she was further out in the
bay and was still out in the bay three hours later so was presumably
hunting and feeding. At 1200GMT she had travelled 16 kms south near
Requieixo and was flying at 54kph in a SSE direction. At 1300GMT, she
was 21 kms further on and flying at 41kph but apparently heading east. |
|
16th Sep |
At 1400GMT she reached a large river
between Coimbra and Foz just 29kms further on, and there she stayed for
the rest of the day - a journey of only 76 kilometres. Most of the time
she was perched on the riverside at Ganja do Ulmeiro, but at 2000GMT her
overnight roost was on river side trees further downstream. |
|
17th Sep |
Still at last night's roost at 0400GMT; next
transmission was at 1400GMT when she perched beside the upper reaches of
Lake Cabril near Padroes; she moved short distances downstream and
roosted beside this large lake. So a day of short journeys and stopping
to fish and feed up. |
|
18th Sep |
Still at the roost beside Lake Cabril until
0700GMT; an hour later she was flying over the lake further downstream
so presumably fishing. Two non GPS transmissions came in later in the
day. At 1346GMT she crossed into Spain after a flight of 95 kilometres
just north of Portalegre and at 1728GMT she was a further 86 kilometres
further SE just south of Montillo in Extremadura. |
|
18th Sep |
At 1700GMT she was on a river SE of
Puebla de la Cazada, and later in the day she roosted beside this river.
The signals were intermittent today but she travelled 221 kilometres.
|
|
19th Sep |
At the roost until 0700GMT and then
at different places by the river presumably fishing for breakfast.
The countryside of southern
Extremadura that she was migrating through today - Segura de Leon
|
|
19th Sep |
The next signal was at 1300GMT and
she was flying SSW at 51kph near Zafra; continuing south she flew up
into the mountains at the western end of the Sierra Morena. At
1500GMT she was at 1725metres. Two hours later she 44 kms further south
and was at a large reservoir near Zufre, to the NW of Seville. This is
where she roosted after a journey of 120 kms during the day.
 |
|
|
Migration journey
to 19th September
 |
|
20th Sep |
Still at the roost at 0500GMT and 250
metres away along edge of lake, probably fishing at 0600-0900GMT.
At 1000GMT she was ten kilometres south flying at 58kph; continued
flying south probably against strong winds. Was approaching the north of
Coto Donana at 1200GMT and flying over the River Guadalquivir, near the
ruins of Ermita de la Senuela, at 1300GMT and an hour later was just
west of Trebujena. |
|
20th Sep |
She then turned west and an hour
later she was 4 kilometres at sea off the dunes of the Coto Donana
reserve, flying NNW at 75kph, presumably downwind. At 1600GMT she
was 45 kilometres to the NW over woodlands to the east of Huelva. An
hour later she was at her roost site in a band of trees by an olive
grove, about 6 kilometres NE of Huelva. Southward migration is on hold
while the weather is apparently overcast with 25kph easterly winds. She
is 2300 kilometres from her nest site, shortest distance, only 7 weeks
since her first flight.
The marshes near Huelva is where a
few Scottish ospreys have wintered in recent decades, including a female
which breeds near Aberfoyle. It is also one of the two sites where
northern European ospreys have been released as part of the Spanish
reintroduction project. |
|
21st Sep |
The radio was not fully charged
presumably due to overcast weather, so signals today have been erratic
but some signals came in which showed that she had stayed in Andalusia
but wandered east. |
|
21st Sep |
She was still at the roost at 0600GMT
but 29 kms SE at 0900GMT, just north of El Rocio (the town at the
gateway of Coto Donana); 3 hours later she was 66kms east between Utrera
and Los Molares. |
|
21st Sep |
At 1500GMT, she had flown another
98kms to the east and was SE of Mollina, after flying past the Sierra de
Humilladero. In the late afternoon she turned NW and flew a further 30
kms NE and at 1800GMT was perched by the Iznajar reservoir. This a place
I have visited (photograph taken in December) and is a good fishing lake
for ospreys.  |
|
22nd Sep |
She was apparently roosting a little
further north at the north end of the lake at 0400GMT. The following map
shows her flight path in Andalusia, Spain
 |
|
22nd Sep |
Still some problems getting full
series of GPS fixes; the weather is partly cloudy with no wind, so her
battery appears to be low on charge. At 1600 to 1800GMT, she was located
at the large Lake Negratin, a water reservoir north of Baza in Granada
province. |
|
23rd Sep |
She was flying over the water in the
eastern arm of the lake at 0800GMT, presumaby fishing; an hour later she
perched at the north end of the lake, 3 kilometres away. At 1000GMT she
was perched on the shore near the corner of the two arms of the lake.
See map below. |
|
23rd Sep |
 |
|
25th Sep |
The last two days of signals were
intermittent and we seem to be having a problem with the radio. |
|
30th Sep |
One very incomplete signal received -
it looks as though the transmitter has mal-functioned. |
