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
Well done Noisette and friends. Like everyone else I am in awe of your persistence, dogged determination - and courage. It is actions like yours that restore one's faith in human nature.
Regards
Ian
Noisette and friends as everyone says absolutely BIG Thank you.
I wonder if Alain has an inbuilt feeling he might find more, but sadly, five weeks is a long time.
Hi all & a huge THANKYOU to you all from myself, Alain & Dominique. Alain did a translate of the forum & was moved by all your good wishes. I wish we could have found his body, we went back this morning & while Alain went around with the metal detector, hoping to get a signal from his leg rings, I went around raking all the leaves & ivy. We just concentrated on the areas where we found the new feathers on Firday morning & the satellite tag which was about a meter from the first feathers we found last Monday. I paced it out today & it's about 25m between the two places. However we found nothing new & I think we've reached the end of this chapter.
It's actually a very pleasant spot with robins, tits & wrens around & quite nice to think of him being there somewhere.
However it's not over, we're trying to get the local paper to do a story, someone in the LPO is organising that, so maybe we'll get some info following that. Here are a few more photos, the feathers found on Friday after washing & lining up
After careful examination, several showed signs of possible shot damage, but it's been pointed out that someone could have taken aim at him previously, so not strong enough proof.
This is Alain, my knight in shining armour who kicked off our searches by getting in touch & wanting to search with me, & then getting as involved as me in wanting to find out what happened. So it was appropiate that he found the satellite tag with his metal detector
& a big thankyou again to Dominique who came out with her GPS depite getting a full wellie on the first visit. Also to Stéphane for doing the write-ups on faune-charente-maritime. We're all volunteers but Alain & Stéphane have to fit it all in with work & other committements.
Me, well I mowed the grass this afternoon & have a weeks worth of digging to do, without mentioning the kitchen (started 2 weeks ago) in disarray & untouched for 10 days.
Thank you all again for your encouragement, it's what kept us at it.
A big thank you to Hazel, Alain and the rest of the search team in finding the tracker and putting all our minds to rest. Such sad news but so necessary to know.
I am really sorry to sound as though I am trying to stir things, but while I appreciated the latest blog on this, I did not agree with the part where it says: "If there is evidence that Breagha was indeed shot then that is a local French matter to pursue". I would very much like to think that the RSPB would be in touch and closely liaise with the relevant French authorities if there was any suggestion that a British satellite tagged bird had been killed by human criminal activity.
We send Osprey experts to various parts of Africa to educate the youngsters about the need to protect these birds, but perhaps a great deal more needs to be paid closer to home, ie in Europe? I am thinking of the horrendous atrocities that take place each year in Malta where migrating birds are shot at in their thousands and the gamekeepers' approach to raptors in the UK, as well as the possible suggestion that Breagha may have been shot at in France.
elizabeth r said:I am really sorry to sound as though I am trying to stir things, but while I appreciated the latest blog on this, I did not agree with the part where it says: "If there is evidence that Breagha was indeed shot then that is a local French matter to pursue". I would very much like to think that the RSPB would be in touch and closely liaise with the relevant French authorities if there was any suggestion that a British satellite tagged bird had been killed by human criminal activity.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
You're quite right Clare, I'm sure they'll follow it up with interest & provide any help or background information that the LPO needs. However there is probably nothing they can do in a legal sense.
Hazel C said:I think the trackers of all birds should have systems in place with organisations to contact in every country that the birds fly over
How practical is that? LD14 has clocked up at least 30 countries.
Hilary J
A huge thank you once again Noisette/Hazel. You have truly been amazing, along with your Knight in Shining Armour, and Dominique. It is lovely to 'meet' Alain at last.
I take my hat off to the tenacity of you all. Without your persistence we will all merely be speculating about dear Breagha. Even if you had managed to find the body with shot in it, I imagine it would have been impossible to apportion blame or charge an individual. How many hunters might there have been in the area at the time.
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
Noisette and gang - i cant say a big enough "thank you so much for all you have done". A sad outcome for a lovely bird but as we know he is one of the high numbers that just don't make it back to the UK but only with thanks to you we know where his life ended. I used to get very attached and very upset but now I know the chances of ever seeing these birds again are very unlikely once the leave our shores as juveniles and take a more detached scientific statistical view.
A sad ending for a majestic bird but you and your colleagues at least give him the effort deserved to trace him. Thank you