[b]Loch Garten osprey diary
Topsy Turvey Weather.....and mixed tag news.16 Feb 2012 11:32 AM
And talking of our osprey both Rothes and Tore are in the same spots as last week, Tore west of Quedanga in Guinea Bissau and Rothes on the Ilha de Unhocomozinho. I download the data with great trepidation hoping to see some movement from Rothes, the data is still intermittent from her tracker, but hopefully there will be enough information coming through to know when she is on the move.
I will pass you over to Richard for some news ………….
Julie Q
Last week I managed to make contact with some people in Mauritania and ask if they might be able to go and look for Bynack. Brilliantly, they said yes and we are very appreciative of their efforts to collaborate with us in this way. Last Friday two people set off from the capital, Nouakchott, heading south for 200km to Bynack’s last known location. I have just heard back from Mauritania as follows.
The search team eventually reached the area after having to battle their way through coastal mangroves to the last known co-ordinates for Bynack, to begin their search. Alas, however they found neither Bynack nor his tag. Their search though was difficult, judging from a habitat picture they send me, showing the area to be of thick, tall, impenetrable tamarisk scrub.
Though they didn’t find anything, I feel that this is potentially encouraging news. If Bynack was dead, you would think that his corpse, say hanging in a bush or tree, would be relatively easily spotted. Similarly, you would think that signs of him, feathers, wings, bones, from having been scavenged perhaps, would also be readily found on the ground. The tag though, being little more than the size of a matchbox, would be quite hard to locate, especially in those thick tamarisk bushes. If you’ve a thick hedge or tree in your garden, imagine how tricky it would be to spot a matchbox hanging in that hedge or that tree? The tags are quite cryptic in colour too, being brown & black and I think could be easily overlooked.
I'm sure you'll join me in thanking our new-found friend’s in Mauritania for their valiant efforts on our behalf, and though their search proved fruitless, I think we can take some heart from their endeavours. It could just be that our boy Bynack is in fact fine & dandy, but that his tag has fallen off, hangs there in a bush somewhere, merrily transmitting from that location.
There is some more positive news on the tagging project front. We have received a contribution towards this year’s tag costs from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). This is brilliant news and takes us closer to achieving our tag costs target, see - Make a donation for 2012’s satellite tags - opposite. As you will see, the Blue Peter-style church roof % barometer (for those of you of a certain age!), has increased significantly - thanks, you guys at SNH, this support is very much appreciated. With our target realistically in reach now, if there’s anyone out there who’s yet to chip-in, and is able too, then please do. Many thanks to all who have and who now might.
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