This year's Loch Garten osprey chicks have just started their migration to Africa, with one embarking on a celebration zig-zag-tour of Britain and flypast of our reserves. Every year the chicks are fitted with satellite tags so we can follow their migration.
Last Wednesday morning (17 August) the three-month old bird, christened 'Tore', was still at its parents' nest at Loch Garten, in the Highlands. But by Thursday afternoon, she'd completed a flypast of our reserve at South Stack, on the Welsh island of Anglesey, after passing through Dumfries and Galloway and flying over the Isle of Man.
After roosting overnight in North Wales she headed across the Midlands and East Anglia to the Minsmere on the Suffolk coast. Staff there saw an osprey with an attached aerial, proving beyond doubt that it was Tore. The latest update revealed that Tore had skirted south-east London, and Rainham Marshes, en route for the coast near Portsmouth.
The journey of Bynack, Tore's brother, is also being followed. Worryingly he headed from Scotland over the North Sea, sparking considerable alarm. However, he has since reappeared in Belgium, near Bruges.
Caroline Rance, Osprey Information Officer at Loch Garten, has been following the reserve's osprey stories. She said: "The satellite technology is fantastic, allowing us to follow their travels in detail, but it can cause our hearts to leap into our mouths when these birds do something unexpected like taking a wrong turn."
Thousands of people follow the ospreys' daily antics via the nest webcam and then track the ospreys as they head to West Africa. The webcam is one of the most popular pages on our website over the summer months.
You too can follow the young ospreys' journey via our website.
Source: Grahame Madge, Media Team, UKHQ