Bird Cams Around the World

Satellite Tracking Update 15th Oct: More Good News
Posted on October 15, 2013 by rangeremma

Blue YZ has made it out of the desert!!!

By last night she had made it into the greener boundary lands of southern Mali
and has done a hard turn right towards the east and the coast.

On Sunday night she had made it to the river Bakoye where she presumably fished and rested for the first time since her desert crossing.

She is now heading east and is presumably following the river system or other landmarks towards the coast. Well done girl!!!!!

Ranger Emma

Satellite Tracking Update 17th October

Posted on October 17, 2013 by rangeremma

The news of our young osprey Blue YZ just gets better and better. The latest satellite data up to last night shows her now in Guinea only 165 km from the coast!

This bird really is astounding us all with her endurance and ability to cope with this mammoth migration. How lucky we are to be able to follow her progress in such detail- thanks to all our supporters who donated money to make this satellite tracking possible.

Thank you to everyone who wrote to tell me of my mistake yesterday , saying she was heading east not west- I was so excited she’d made it through the desert I wasn’t thinking clearly! It was not, as some have suggested, that as an Australian, all my directions are upside down!

Tomorrow I will be producing some more analysis of her distances and route, as well as updating you on Blue YD’s movements and the autumn wildlife around Loch of the Lowes.

Ranger Emma

Osprey Diary 18th October

Posted on October 18, 2013 by rangeremma

As our young Osprey Blue YZ nears the end of her mammoth first migration, it seems like a good time to look back on her achievement so far. Whilst it still remains to be seen where she settles for the winter, and there are lots more analysis and statistics we will be doing in the coming weeks, here are some small insights so far:

Countries visited so far on route: 10 (and within the UK she visited Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Isles of Scilly).

Distance traveled so far: over 5,000km (3,200 miles)

Top speed: 49km per hour on the 6th October in Morocco

Highest Altitude: 3380 meters, whilst crossing the Atlas mountains in Morocco on the 6th October.

There are lots of questions still to be answered such as: Where will she settle for her first winter? Which country will it be: Guinea or Guinea Bissau or even Gambia or Sierra Leone?

Will she find a prime spot on the coast or will she have to settle for an inland river territory like Blue YD?

Lastly, and most importantly of all, will she be able to stay out of trouble and survive her first winter?

We are so lucky to have this insight into her journey and especially lucky that out of the three young ospreys SWT has satellite tagged so far during this project, two are still going strong. This is an above average survival rate for juvenile ospreys , as we know at least half of chicks do not make it through their first year. Our luck is particularly highlighted by the sad news that our friends at the Lake District Osprey project in England have lost one of their young ospreys 'White 15' just this last week in the same area of the Sahara that our Blue YZ crossed around the same time- presumably of exhaustion.

Meanwhile our 2012 chick from Angus, Blue YD, continues to haunt his usual area on the Senegal river, settling into the same habitual patterns as last winter. His recent movements are mostly in the same 10km square mile area around his favorite two bends of the river west of Podor. The only exception recently has been a random flight south west into the drier lands on the 15th of October- it looks almost as if he was heading back towards the coast again, but changed his mind.

More satellite tracking data should be available on Saturday folks.

Ranger Emma

Osprey Satellite Tracking Update: 19th October
Posted on October 19, 2013 by rangeremma

Our young Osprey Blue YZ is still in Guinea (as of yesterday), but is now within 75km of the coast, to the south of the town of Boke. She is heading SW towards the coast and will arrive near the port city of Kamsar on the Rio Nunez, if she continues on her current course (very close to the Guinea- Bissau border).

Since our last update, she spent the night of the 16th fishing and relaxing on a river near Hamdallaye, as you can see from this close up:

The next day, the 17th, she flew only 75km, almost due east, taking things easy in the more fertile lands. Overnight on the 17th she roosted near Kagnaka in forest, just 10km south of a large airport. The next morning she turned to a more SW course.

Will she choose to settle in this lush area of rivers or push on to the coast? Only time will tell.

Ranger Emma

News Update: She’s Made it! 21st October

Posted on October 21, 2013 by rangeremma

The latest news from our young satellite tracked osprey Blue YZ has just come in- and she has made it to the African coast safely! After her mammoth migration she arrived in coastal Guinea around 1pm on the 18th ( Friday) and spent the next 48hours exploring the lush deltas in the area- who can blame her for relaxing after all that travelling.

She chose an area of the coast quite a long way south of her last course ( not heading to Guinea Bissau as we suspected she might) . At 5pm last night ( the 20th) she was only 50km north of Conakry the capital.

Whether she stays in this area or moves on again will depend on how many other ospreysthere are in the area ( particularly territorial older birds) .

One comforting thought for all the European birds migrating to this area- in a conversation with Roy Dennis this morning, he told me his local contacts had mentioned how good the autumn rains had been this year and how much inland water there was . This is obviously good news for our fishing birds as it means more space, more food and better odds for all their winter survival.

Ranger Emma

Osprey Satellite Tracking Update 27th October
Posted on October 27, 2013 by rangeremma

Our two young birds in Africa continue to do well and are sending us fascinating information regularly. Their transmitter tags are programmed to collect location information every hour , where available, and then transmit that info to the satellite at set intervals: during peak migration, every 2 days, but as of next week, every four days. So don’t worry if you haven't heard any news of Blue YZ and Blue YD for a few days- we will continue to give you the latest news as soon as we have it.

Blue YZ is now in Guinea Bissau, cruising slowly north along the coast line, looking for a winter territory that is not already occupied by other ospreys- particularly defensive adults.

Guinea Bissau has over 350km of coastline and the whole of the western area is a swampy low lying delta, covered in mangrove swamps and small farming areas cut out of the tropical forest- The highest point in the whole country is just 300m above sea level.

With only 1.5 million people, but a long recent history of civil war, this area is not densely populated, but none the less hazardous for a bird like ours. The country's current environmental issues include deforestation and soil erosion, as well as overfishing and grazing .

The tropical climate has two seasons, wet and dry. The wet season is just ending, so the rivers and swamps are full, and from now to April comes the dry season, with average daily temperature about 25-30 degrees C .