This is a new thread to follow the travels of these three young ospreys from the Loch Garten nest.
Millicent
This female juvenile is the eldest of the 2014 brood, hatched on 17th May and fledged on 12th July. Millicent’s ring is Blue/White AN0
Seasca
Also female, the second of the 2014 brood, hatched 19th May and fledged on 15th July. Seasca’s ring is Blue/White AN9.
LG blog on the ringing and tagging of Millicent & Seasca. Their younger sister Druie is not tagged, but ringed Blue/White AN8.
Breagha
A male from the 2013 brood, hatched 28th May and fledged on 19th July. Breagha’s ring is Blue/white CF4.
LG blog on the ringing and tagging Breagha and elder sibling Oighrig.
The migrations of Breagha and Oighrig were previously followed in this thread. Contact was lost with Oighrig in January 2014, but Breagha has survived and is living in the tidal creeks of the Casamance river in southern Senegal.
You thoughts also echoed by me.
Breagha moves on to Morocco
Truly wonderful to hear good news of Breagha, thanks Alan!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Extract from today's Blog
Breagha is still on the move! Mike fills us in on what the boy has been up to:
Breagha has continued with his journey north so this could be a mini-migration. His behaviour is reminiscent of what Rothes did in 2011. On 22nd May 2011, she was also two years old and started a journey north from islands off the coast of Guinea Bissau arriving in SW France on 2nd July 2011 near the town of Sant-Fort-sur-Gironde which is north of Bordeaux and close to the Gironde River. This area was close to where she stayed on a Sturgeon farm during August 2009 on her first migration south. She left the area at the end of September before returning to the same islands in Guinea Bissau.
So, is Breagha also on a mini-migration? If so, is he heading to the Vienne-Loire area of Central France where he spent September 2013 on his migration south?
The current data collection regime is quite course with only three data points per day namely at 06.00, 14.00 and 22.00 GMT. The only data points which show Breagha actually moving are at 14.00 GMT each day with him at rest, presumably roosting for the night, at the other two time points. He could be making many detailed direction changes and stops in the intervening time points.
Overall, Breagha has made quite a journey. From 14.00 GMT on 29 May until 14.00 GMT on 5 June he travelled a total of around 1575 km reaching a highest altitude of 2750 km travelling at 30 km per hour when last recorded crossing into southern Morocco over the southern end of the Anti-Atlas mountains. This part of his journey differs from that followed by Rothes in that she travelled close to the coast for much of her time in NW Africa. The image below shows Breagha’s journey in detail. Highlights are the deviation he made towards the coast between 31 May and 2 June. Was this a fishing trip? On 4 June he crossed the Tropic of Cancer sometime late afternoon or early evening and at 14.00 GMT on 5 June he crossed from Mauritania into southern Morocco at the southern end of the Anti-Atlas Mountains. Where to next? If he continues this northward journey at this rate we might expect him to be in Spain by next weekend when more data becomes available.
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
Wish he had stayed on the coast and hugged it all the way to Europe instead of putting himself under pressure with the desert.
Thanks SHEILA I admit ti gettting a bit worried when we didn't her anything at the end of last week
It appears that there were strong northerly winds on the coast so he came inland to find lighter winds and an easier journey north. Smart bird.
Smart bird. He was my favourite at fledging time when I volunteered. Slow but steady and took an eternity to finally lift of the nest after willing him and shouting do so for a week. His canniness has served him well thus far.
Did Breagha visit the Gulf of Cintra - where Kielder's UV spent several weeks on his way south?
In this map posted with the blog (click for a larger version) he overnights on 31st May about 90 miles from the Gulf. At 14.00 on 1st June, he is only 15 miles from it. He then spends the night only around 23 miles away. He could have fitted in a visit for fishing purposes either before or after 14.00.
Unknown said:Did Breagha visit the Gulf of Cintra - where Kielder's UV spent several weeks on his way south?
I very much doubt it.
Tiger Signature