Aigan flew SSW through the French countryside to reach Nantes at 1400GMT, at 1600hrs was near Aizenay and reached the coast south of Les Sables-d’Olonne. Flew a little further south and roosted by a small estuary at La Guitierre after a flight of 233 km.
Flight on September 4th
Aigan coming in off the sea at Ventnor, Isle of Wight (Photo James Gloyn)
Isle of Wight to Caen – 3rd September
Aigan was slow starting off but at 11am was over Afan Forest Park and then turned SE towards Cardiff and then across the Bristol Channel to reach the Somerset Levels at 1pm. An hour later she was over ponds west of Glastonbury. She was at Yeovil 3pm and Dorchester at 4pm, and then stop to roost in a strip of trees in farmland just west of Broadmayne after day flight of 115 miles
Aigan flew west to start with to Mull Hill, and then south and when off Port Erin changed heading to SSE and headed towards North Wales. At 10am she reached Amlwch in Anglesey and kept on over the North Wales mountains. Just before midday she passed the North Wales osprey breeding area and at 1pm was over Machynlleth, close to the Dyfi ospreys at the Montgomery Wildlife reserve. After 2pm she stopped in woodlands to the NE of Llandovery to roost overnight after 150 miles
August 31st flight
Aigan left her breeding area in Moray after 9am and an hour later was in the centre of the Cairngorms; at midday she was at Aberfeldy (close to Rothiemurchus’s favourite haunts) and at 2.15pm flew over Glasgow at a low altitude. Flew down through Ayrshire and at 5pm was near Port William, south of Wigton, and then struck off over the sea to the Isle of Man. Passed Ramsay at 6pm and at 7pm was just south of the island but turned back and roosted overnight in the grounds of a big house just west of Castle Douglas, after a flight of 257 miles.
Migration on August 30th
