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
Hello, not been on the site for a while but just read on FB that Breaghe's tracker has been found. Well done to whoever found it.
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home
The whole saga of the search for and resulting find of Breagha's remains and tracker are contained in the previous pages.
The success of the search is down to Noisette and a small band of helpers to whom we all owe a huge debt of gratitude. The details of the actual find are on page 7.
Without their dogged determination,committment and concern we would not have had such a result.
Birdies LG DU update.
Good morning all. I whole heartedly agree with all the above posts. If it were not for Noisette and Alain and their determined thorough search we would still speculating about Breaghs demise. Also it has highlighted the added dangers these birds face. With the added publicity of this maybe it might go some way to prevent at least some deaths in future! They face enough hazards as it is without illegal human activity :(
Hi. I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as many others on the forum but do, like everyone else, have a fascination for the osprey and follow the threads with interest.
In addition to Noisettes direct involvement in the story of the Hunt for Breagha, there have been many thoughtful and considered contributions which address the various aspects of the business - the disappearance of a tracked osprey, the efforts (or otherwise) of the RSPB to follow up, the discovery of feathers and tracker and then all the implications that ensue.
There is more to learn and we all await that with interest. It will not take away any of the disappointment that we all feel that Breagha did not make it back to Scotland. In his memory, and in recognition of Noisettes efforts, the RSPB and the appropriate authorities should ensure that lessons are learned from everything that has happened.
One of the reasons the RSPB attract some criticism at times is the paucity of communication. Frustrations can be nipped in the bud by a simple blog, even if it contains minimal information and a timescale for a further update when they know more. They should be more open to the offers of help they receive, after all much of the good work they do is done by volunteers anyway.
Trackers have already enabled us to learn so much about ospreys, but as previously suggested in this thread, there must be a way in which they can be adapted to help us understand more about the poor survival rate of ospreys. I appreciate its costly but surely it would be worth it if the suspected 20% survival rate could be increased.
Let us hope that Breagha's death is not in vain.
I think a great thing to do would be to start some kind of international website, perhaps linked to bird ringing sites, & every country could list all their bird rescue centres & bird protection agencies, such that if this ever happens again you just look at the country & have a string of phone numbers to ring to start the rescue or investigation straight away.
Over here we operate a bird transport scheme so that if you have an injured bird, you can call them & they try & find a volunteer in your area to collect the bird. Obviously if the bird is missing it's more complicated but they would probably know who to get in touch with.
It's always easy to critise in hindsight, maybe things could have been done better, but instead of being critical it's better to try & improve the system for the future. It would do for all tracked birds & could also be useful for foreigners who find an injured bird in a foreign country & don't know who to contact.
"International Bird Rescue" what do you think? Come on you internet experts!
I keep meaning to post this photo, taken on our last visit. I had to use automatic flash & so it's not even in focus!! It shows the log over the ditch that runs between the two main areas where we found the feathers & sat tag, so it's as close as you can be to his last resting place.
The sun just peeps through the trees & there were robins, tits, wrens & other little birds around, so it's quite nice there really.
Unknown said:One of the reasons the RSPB attract some criticism at times is the paucity of communication. Frustrations can be nipped in the bud by a simple blog, even if it contains minimal information and a timescale for a further update when they know more. They should be more open to the offers of help they receive, after all much of the good work they do is done by volunteers anyway.
So true, and not just in relation to the saga of investigating Breagha's sad loss.
Sincere thanks to Noisette and her helpers.
IMAGICAT
I love the idea of an website "International Bird Rescue". I have no idea how it could be set up, or indeed administered, but it certainly is an interesting idea. To be able to 'call up' or alert the 'emergency' person in a country, who could alert a local seems so sensible.
Thank you Noisette for posting the final resting place, as near as possible, for Breagha. A poignant photo.
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
scylla said: One of the reasons the RSPB attract some criticism at times is the paucity of communication. Frustrations can be nipped in the bud by a simple blog, even if it contains minimal information and a timescale for a further update when they know more. They should be more open to the offers of help they receive, after all much of the good work they do is done by volunteers anyway. So true, and not just in relation to the saga of investigating Breagha's sad loss. Sincere thanks to Noisette and her helpers. [/quote] Perhaps in this instance we might receive a Blog giving the precise details of just what was done,when and by whom. That at least would allow us to determine if the criticism directed at members of the forum, in the Blog entitled Breagha Update is justified. Birdies LG DU update.
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Perhaps in this instance we might receive a Blog giving the precise details of just what was done,when and by whom. That at least would allow us to determine if the criticism directed at members of the forum, in the Blog entitled Breagha Update is justified.
For my part, whatever was done or not done, said or not said, is finished. It was obviously a very difficult time with people coming and going & I don't think anyone is going to benefit from raking it all up again.