I thought I'd start a new thread on this as "The adventures of Breagha" are probably over. My continued frustration at not being able to visit the site was overcome at the weekend when someone who I have known for some years by name & had already contacted me by email about Breagha decided he'd like to help me in the serach. He scouted around the outside of the woods on Saturday & then contacted me to arrange a joint visit which we did on Monday 13th October, a month after Breagha sent in signals from the same spot , thus signalling there was a problem. I know downloads were at 3 days at this point, so i am still at a loss as to why a search was not instigated straight away, in case Breagha was injured. However it was not. As far as I can work out, the only official search that has taken place was by 2 agents of the ONCFS, one local & one from Chizé area )where he had been working with members of the RSPB) on Saturday 26th September. They found some wing feathers & took photos. The feathers are still in the local office. There is no ongoing enquiry & no plans to go back to the serach area.
So Alain & I set off into the woods. They are very overgrown but there is a hunters trail that I knew which took us to the area of his last signals, opposite the track that runs between the last 2 lagoons.
This is a typical view in the woods (sorry about the photos, it was quite sombre & had the camera on automatique)
This is a typical "bridge"
& this was a trickier one which the hunters had thoughtfully put some extra hand holds on.
& then we were there, Alain went on ahead & I stood & looked & thought no hope here & there it was, a few half buried feathers. I pulled them out & called Alain & then remembered to take photos. We found part of a wing with bones intact. It was fresh, you could see the blood & bones weren't all brown. Close-up photos later on. We marked the area & I can find it easily again, about 20 m from the edge of the wood & close to my storks nest. Nearby was a big tall tree that he must have been sitting in. These are the photos of the spot
Thats my bin bag that I took just in case, from a distance you can see why they were missed, just really lucky to have found them,
& from another direction you could see some feathers in the ivy, probably blew up & got caught when the animal carried off the rest of Breagha
These are the tall trees nearby,
& the same one's lower down
We had a good look around the area but no sign of the body or other feathers so came home. We then took pictures of the feathers & they seem to match photos in the book but need an expert to be sure. However Alain pointed out 2 feathers that showed possible signs of passage of lead shot, the "hairs" on the feather had been broken off halfway down. This is a closeup of one. Its towards the end of the 2nd feather down. However there is no certainty in this.
For the experts I've put in a "foot" ruler for size
Close up of wing & bone
& other side, which for me points to Osprey underwing
Hopefully Mike will come back to me to say what needs to be done. I think they should be x-rayed to see if there is any trace of lead in them. Also the feathers found by the oncfs should be dealt with. I'm quite happy to post back to uk but for any follow-up enquiry they should be dealt with here first.
After getting home I was back out in the afternoon counting Stone Curlews with the ONCFS & quizzed them so that's how I know there's nothing else happening, at least as far as they know.
I know I said I'd wait for the RSPB blog, but this is my story & I'm sharing it with you. If the feathers are not an Osprey then I apologise sincerely & I hope that seeing the feathes did not distress you too much. If anyone can positively come on & identify them then that would be good too.
I'm off out again this afternoon, more Stone Curlews. And big thank-you to my knight in shining armour, Alain, who read my distress in the emails & came to my rescue. I can sleep nights now!
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
There is a new blog, confirming all that Noisette felt. She found the tracker!!! Well done Noisette for all your dogged determination.
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
Congratulations, Hazel. I've just read the blog and your persistence has paid off. At least everyone now knows for certain of Breagha's demise. I hope you find more evidence if you've got the stamina to persist.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Wow, I await updates, fantastic news at finding the tracker. At least we now know that dear Breagha has gone.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Well done Hazel. Our grateful thanks to you and your helpers.
Birdies LG DU update.
Thanks for your persistence in searching.
Many thanks, Hazel, to you and your friends for all your hard work and for your determination to find more information, resulting in your finding Breagha's tracker. So sad that he is gone, but I suppose knowing for certain is better than speculation. Such a shame that he stopped to rest where he did.
Kind regards, Ann
Thanks H & team for following through & finding Breagha's tracker, the evidence required to help find cause of his sad demise!
Good luck & decent weather for your further searching & await further news!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Thanks Hazel for all your and your friends hard work. You have done a really tremendous job in finding out what happened to poor Breagha. Words can't really express my admiration for what you have done. A very sad ending but at least we now we know the outcome.
Kind regards
Jenny
Thank you Hazel for all your efforts in the search for Breagha. Sad outcome but at least we now have closure.
© Scottish Wildlife Trust - Loch of the Lowes
A really big thank you from me as well Hazel, Alain and Dominique.
You have been steadfast in your aim to find what happened to Breagha and you have. It is a very sad result but at least we know he is dead, we may never know exactly how he died but you have gone beyond the call of duty to find as much as you can. I wish there were more people like yourself. Thanks once again.