Tracking Rothes and Mallachie

Rothes now appears to be heading for the coast where she first arrived in Africa on 28th Sept 2009:

Not as good a job as Tiger would do, but gives a reasonable idea where he is. He crossed his outward route on 11 June, and is still heading north - just by a rather roundabout route. At this rate, he might just make it home before it is time to head back!

EDIT - should have known we could rely on you, Alan.

This is another strange detour, south-east, then east, then north north west. There is maybe some cause for this, the coastal route could present some dangers. Perhaps it is not a safe place to roost?

I believe this may be still down to the strong northerly winds, which seemed to drop about the 12th.

Note that Rothes has travelled about 180km NNW on the 12th between the overnight stop and 1300 hours, which is pretty good progress.

When did Rothes have the sex change, and how did you find out?   

She seems to travel inland and then changes her mind and goes back toward the sea.  We can not know her thinking, but when she gets hungry does she  remember the food is east and goes back?

So, is anyone going to try and predict when Rothes reaches the UK coast?

I am going to say she  explores the Northern  area but doesn't  come back this year

She did intersect her own maiden flight path......Did she remember it?  After continuing due east, she now seems to be beating back north west towards the maiden flight path again.  Will she continue north along it when she strikes it again?  I think she will.  ;-)

My comment above about coastal danger was prompted by the video I saw on the BluRay disc 'Winged Migration' where an injured bird, possibly a tern from memory was ambushed by a group of land crabs, who chased it and then they are shown as having devoured it. Maybe, tired or exhausted roosting birds could be intimidated by this threat. I cannot find a web link that shows this risk at the moment.

The producers of the film said that the bird survived the attack? Here is the review.

Winged Migration.

Have been looking up Richard's question, about whether there are rivers in the area Rothes has been passing through since she left the coast again on 10th June. 

Though there seem to be watercourses if you zoom in on Google Earth, these are wadis or seasonal rivers, locally called oued, which are only wet during and immediately after the winter months. In Western Sahara, there is a large one which flows west past Semara and Laayoune.

By the night of 12th June, Rothes should have been able to reach the Oued Draa, which flows out of the High Atlas mountains. On her migration south in September 2009, she first reached the African coast near the mouth of the Oued Draa and the city of Tan-tan.