Beatrice has stayed very much in her normal winter range throughout last ten days

On 29th she flew back home – at 1500hrs she was flying inland down the coast and an hour later at Manilva she turned inland towards her egualr winter haunts and has remained there.

Aiugust 23rd to September 3rd

Beatrice fished at her usual haunt on the lower river at 0600hrs on 24th but two hours later she was over the Mediterranean Sea 5 km off Punta Chullera – flying NNE at49 km/hr and 1196 metres above the water. An hour later she was 6 km suth of Marbella still flying NNE and now 1626 metres abut the Med (she has not done this before). An hour later she was 13 km N of Marbell over the mountains and then turned south to the big reservoir, Embalse de la Concepcion at Istan, where she settled in the upper section of this monutaoin lake, and was still there this morning.

Beatrice’s unusual flight out over the Med

Beatrice was heading south soon after 0800GMT flying direct for winter site at 52 km/hr. At 1000hrs cossed River Gaudalquivir and two later at 1000 metres at La Rambla. At 1600 hrs cossed the mountains between Ronda and El Burgo (a wonderful area that I know well) and headed straight down to her favourite fishing in the orange groves by the River Guadiaro. She then roosted the night on a back water at a favourite site. A day’s flight of 207 km.  This is the same date as in 2010 – she was eight days later last year and arrival dates were 1st September in 2008 and 3rd September in 2009.

Migration on August 23rd

She had moved downstream by 0700GMT and started migrating after 0900 hrs. At 1100 hrs she was flying at 57km/hr SW near Almajano and two hours later was at 1421 metres altitude near Baraona. She passed Guadalajara after 1600 hrs and was east of Madrid at 1900GMT, before flying east to roost on the side of the River Tajo near Driebes after a day’s flight of 255 km.  She should be at the wintering site before the next set of transmissions

Migration on August 21st

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Migration on Augiust 20th

Beatrice set off on migration at 1000GMT and headed for the Pyrenees and crossed the mountains at her usual route near Mount Adi which then took her down the valleys to the suburbs of Pamplona. She flew on south and at 1700hrs was well east of Logrono before roosting for the night in the mountains upstream of Enciso in La Rioja after a flight of 218 km

Beatrice has been living at her previous haunts in the wetlands of the River Ardour between 15th and 19th August

Beatrice left the roost after 0900 GMT on 14th August and flew steadily south, crossing the Gironde at the confluence at 1330GMT and then over the centre of Bordeaux. Flying on south at 50 to 60ph she reachedthe River Ardour and roosted in a wood south of Pontonx-sur-l’Ardour at 1900GMT.

Next morning 15th August she flew 10 km east to her favourite migration stop-over in the Ardour wetlands between Gouts and Onard. It will be interesting to see how long she stops before flying on tosouthern Spain.

Beatrice roosted overnight just south of the River Loire at Angers on 12th/13th August after a flight of 204 km, next day she flew 214 km south and roosted overnight just north of Pons, NE of Gironde estuary

Migraion hrough France 11th – 14th August

At 7am she wasperched near the river; an hour later she was circling low over Newtown harbour on the Isle of Wight and an hour later was perched near Brightstone. At 1200GMT she was nearing the French coast at Barfleur and an hour later was flying down the peninsula heading fpr southern France and her stop-over on the River Ardour.

11th August – crossing toi France