As a continuing part of our honey buzzard project, we 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.
Vespa
Ringing Date: 5th August 2009
Nest Location: North Scotland
BTO Ring Number: GF53483
Satellite Radio Number: 21252
Sex: Male
Measurements: Wing 310mm
Weight: 894g
General
The chicks were dramatically different, with one being really dark, nearly as black as a crow, and the other a normal paler one. The dark chick was the older one. I believed it to be a male and we named him Vespa after the Latin name for wasp, the honey buzzard’s favourite food.
Annual Movements
Vespa set off on his migration in the first week of September. He flew through Portugal and Spain and then crossed the Gibraltar Straits on 16th or 17th September. He flew on through Morocco and Mali, and then remained in wooded scrubland in Mali until 27th October. On 28th he flew south into Guinea and then on into Liberia where he remained for a while. By 19th November he had made an amazing journey into Nigeria, 1850km from his previous location. He remained in this area, north of Lagos, until early February 2010. He then headed to Ghana and lived near the Kakum National Park until mid March. He continued to range between Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Liberia throughout the summer and autumn. His radio finally stopped transmitting on the 18th October, having given us an amazing insight into a young honey buzzard’s first migration, located its winter quarters and shown us its summer ranging behaviour and second wintering area. Hopefully one day we might find this bird back in Scotland.
To view details of Vespa’s movements click on the following link : Vespa 2009-2010
Reproductive History
Vespa did not reach breeding age during our studies.
Rana
Ringing Date: 5th August 2009
Nest Location: North Scotland
BTO Ring Number: GF53484
Satellite Radio Number: 21253
Sex: Female
Measurements: 305mm
Weight: 978g
General
The pale chick was the younger one. I believed it to be a female and we named her Rana after the Latin name for common frog, a prey item sometimes eaten by honey buzzards.
Annual Movements
Rana began to range away from the nest site towards the end of August, but did not set off on migration until mid September. She headed through Portugal and crossed the Gibraltar Straits from Spain to Morocco on 28th September. She then headed south into the Sahara Desert, much further west than her brother. She continued across the Mauritanian and Senegalese deserts and arrived in Guinea Bissau on 10th October. Rana spent the next 1.5 months there, ranging around the Guinea Bissau-Guinea borderlands, before heading to Ghana on 23rd November. In early December she made a huge movement of 1500 km to Cameroon and remained in a forested region there all through spring and summer 2010. We received the last transmission from her radio on 28th July 2010. As with her brother, the data provided us with a very interesting insight into the movements of a young honey buzzard on her first migration, winter and following summer in Africa. We hope to see her back in Scotland one day.
To view details of Rana’s movements click on the following link: Rana 2009-2010
Reproductive History
Rana did not reach breeding age during our studies.
