2009 Migration Studies

As a continuing part of our honey buzzard project, we have fitted standard Microwave Telemetry transmitters to two young honey buzzards this year from a nest on private land in the North of Scotland. This is the same pair as last year, but in the nest they used in 2007. This is a partnership project funded by Forestry Commission and the Highland Foundation for Wildlife. We are most grateful to the owner of the forest for his great interest in the honey buzzards, but we wish to keep the locality confidential so the starting locality for tracking purposes will be my office.

The nest contained two chicks when found on 3rd August. On 5th August Bob Moncrieff climbed to the nest and lowered them in a bag to the ground. We measured, weighed and ringed them, and fitted the transmitters, before they were returned to the nest. Both chicks were in excellent condition, while the nest held plenty of full wasp comb and grubs, despite the fact that wasps had seemed scarce this summer.

The chicks were dramatically different, with one being really dark, nearly as black as a crow, and the other a normal paler one. The older chick, ringed number GF53483, weighed 894 grams with a wing of 310mm; while the younger pale chick GF53484, weighed 978 grams with a wing of 305 mm. I think the dark one was male and the other female.

The radio numbers are 21252 (dark) and 21253 (pale) and immediately started sending out signals from the nest.

The two chicks should start their long hazardous migrations in August and September, and the data will be presented on their individual pages.