after roosting in inland Guinea on 2nd/3rd December, Fiddich flew NW and by evening she was beside a forested river near Saala in NW Guiea. On 4th she crossed back into Guinea Bissau and flew leaisurely across country, passing over the River Corebal and by evening was in the marshes in the upper River Geba, north of Bafata.Next morninh she continued nortth and crosed the River Gambia at 1400GMT near Pakalinding. She roosted that night in Senegal on a tributary of the Gambia river. On the 7th she set off NW before 1000hrs and passed the Kaolcak salt pans and then north to roost east of Kebemer in dry savannah. Next day was just a relatively short flight back to her start point and by 14oohrs she was setlled again on the river which runs into Lac de Guier.

475 miles each way in a direct line (of course she flew further) would be like setting off from her natal area near Elgin in north Scotland to spend a few days on the Isle of Wight and back. It’s amzing how quickly these young ospreys learn the map of West Africa.

 

Fiddich was probably finding her recent haunts in northern Seengal unsuitable because on 27th November she set off south and roosted that night on the River Gambia, well up river. Next day she flew on SW through Senegal and Guinea Bissau to reach the north west coast of Guinea. On 29th she coasted down through Guinea covering over 100km . On 30th she flew on past Conakry and on 1st and 2nd December was near Foecariah, SE of the capital. On 2nd she flew north through Guinea for 150 km before settling for the night on a small wooded hil near Dantare-Kobi. There were no obvious wetlands in that area which is well populated. Hope she finds a good wintering with plenty of fish soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiddich is living on the edge of the river/wetland in a range of 1.5 square km near Kotiedea from 1st to 10th November, and roosting away from the water in sparse trees.

 

Fiddich continues to live in the same wetland and thank goodness the GPS is working again.  On the afternoon of 24th October she set off SW and flew to Louga and roosted NE of Thiess; next day she flew around the Dakar area and on 26th headed back north and returned to her orginal locality. May be meeting too many aggressive adult ospreys sent her back to her chosen site which is probably not the best.

Fiddich remains in same place in an area of 12 square kms to 20th October

Fiddich has settled down a river/wetland which is to the SE of Lac de Guiers; unfortunately the GPS data collection on this transmitter has failed and the locations are now of the less accurate system. Good class 1 and 2 locations suggest Fiddich is ranging in an area of 3 square km.

Fiddich had moved 20km down river/wetland towards the big lake by night of 2nd/3rd October

Unfortunately, Fiddich’s transmitter is failing to give GPS reading but the non GPSreadings show that she has made her first crossing of the Sahara and reached the Senegal River. She covered 2000 km since entering North Algeria on 22nd, on 26th September she was over the Mauritanian desert 500 km east of Nouakchott. On 28th she was on the banks of the River Senegal at Matam and two days had flown west and was on wetlands NW of Louga in Senegal

 

Fiddich was well south in the Mauritanian desert at 2234GMT on 24th and at 0220GMT on 26th was 500km east of Nouakchott in Mauritania, a distance of 1300 kms from her last location in Morocco. For some reason her transmitter is not sending GPS locations.

Fiddich made good progress down through Morocco, buta bit east of most osprey migrations and on the evening of 22nd September was on the north edge of the Algerian Hamada Draa deserts