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richard thaxton

Good news first…..

Rothes seems to be fine, having spent the last week (up until Friday 11th) pottering about in the vicinity of Varela, in Guinea Bissau. Might she spend Christmas there?

And more good news…..

To up-date you on the recent blog ask for support towards the mains power project, of the £7,000 hoped for by 1st February, last Monday the total stood at £2,530, but as of today, it is £3,154 - a brilliant effort so far.  Our sincere thanks to all of you who have contributed.

Now, the not such good news…..

It concerns Mallachie.  We have waited for a second week to see if any data arrived, but there is still no data for her. Clearly, something must have happened, for there to be, no data for 2 weeks, but we cannot be sure quite what. Please try to be as reassured. It need not mean that it is entirely bad news.  The scenarios are as follows;

  • The tag may have failed.  It may have malfunctioned or potentially dropped off.  If it had dropped off then, it ought to still be transmitting its whereabouts, unless of course it has dropped off into water. Although sealed, and waterproofed against brief and temporary wetting when the bird is fishing, prolonged emersion in water will likely cause it to stop working.
  • Alas, it could suggest that something has happened to Mallachie.

Tags falling off or failing has happened before. Talking to our technical colleagues at HQ, they tell me that, there have been cases where tags have stopped sending data, perhaps because the battery has got very low, or where the solar panel has become obscured by feathers and isn’t charging, and yet transmitters have resumed transmitting after quite some time. Or where bird have strayed into areas of poor satellite coverage. Also, there does seem to be satellite "blindspots" where heavy radio traffic drowns out the signals.

Examples they gave me were; a Sociable Lapwing, satellite tagged as part of a research programme. It stopped transmitting and the worst was feared.  Yet a year later it was seen on its breeding grounds in Kazakhstan, identified by its leg rings, but was not carrying the satellite tag. Other Sociable Lapwings have been 'lost to the satellites” for periods of up to a couple of months.

 

In another case, the satellite tag, kept issuing data intermittently, and when investigated the tag was found in sand dunes, transmitting when it was exposed to the sun, but not doing so when the wind had blown the sand and covered it over.

 

So positive thinking please, Mallachie might just be fine, though we cannot ignore the possibility that we have lost her. Sorry to be the bearer of this worrying news in this, the season of festive cheer.

 Owing to the festive break, we will not be able to check up on the birds, up-date the map or post a blog until next year – that might sound like a long way off, but in effect, it is just until Tuesday 5th January.

So for now, Alice, myself and the rest of the team here at Abernethy, wish you a Happy Christmas and all the very best for the New Year ahead.

Richard Thaxton  - Site manager Loch Garten