I offered yesterday to start a new Topic once Bynack had fledged, but as we now have the updated Satellite Tracking page, and biography pages for Tore and Bynack, and there are some tracking results for Tore on Google Earth, I’ve gone ahead with it.
A brief introduction to the ospreys we’re tracking – first, the class of 2011.
Tore – link to her Biography
Tore is the elder of this year’s juveniles, her ring is blue/white 48. She fledged on Tuesday 12th July aged 54 days, and has started to do a little exploring.
Bynack – link to his Biography
Tore’s younger brother, ring blue/white 47. Bynack is aged 53 days today and has yet to fledge.
Edit: He has fledged, at 10.18 am today 16/7.
Rothes – link to her Biography
Rothes is the eldest of EJ and Odin’s offspring, hatched at Loch Garten in 2009. Her ring is white/black PJ. She migrated as a juvenile to Guinea-Bissau, and spent her formative months on the small island of Unhocomozinho, in the Bijagos Archipelago. Now a sub-adult, she has travelled north to Europe for the first time this summer and is currently in the Gironde estuary in SW France, where she also spent 6 weeks on her way south in 2009. So far, she has not returned to the UK.
Rothes' earlier travels were followed in this thread, now closed.
Thanks Sue that is very interesting. It appears that they went farther on the 11th than on previous days. I didn't pay attention to this in previous years, but last year when Odin suddenly stopped bringing fish so did EJ. No one fed them for more than a day. Do they do this to push them to look for lakes or streams or do they do this to get them to follow them and see them fish. ? I doubt we will ever know the answer.
Formerly known as Barbara Jean
I just checked Google Earth and they were a bit west of Loch Morlich but who knows if they were actually there at a time the points were not recorded . I thought they went a longer distance on the 11th , but Tore went much farther North east on the 6th
Google Earth data from 11th-14th August, showing that Tore & Bynack are generally not venturing far from home..........
and Rothes' movements also from 11th - 14th:
Well Tore's off!
I reckon her first night's stop away from Loch Garten on Weds 17th, was the location shown for the first point of the 18th - in forest around Great Hill, east of the village of Closeburn, north of Dumfries. This guess is based on looking at the Altitude, which you do by right-clicking on the Point, either in the Places menu or on the map, and selecting Properties. Tore's Altitude at this point is 336m above sea level, while the summit of Great Hill is shown as 353m.
The most recent point, off Holyhead Island, is a "flying" point, 140m asl.
At this point, Tore was passing close to South Stack lighthouse and the RSPB reserve of South Stack Cliffs.
The route is very close to Rothes', from the Isle of Man onwards - Rothes' second night stop on Anglesey is shown on the right.
Thank you Sue for the remark about rightclicking on the point to see the locations propperties. much appreciated as I am not a regular GE user.
Cats and women will do as they please. Dogs and men should relax and get used to it.
Am I right in thinking that this is the first time that a second pair of juves from the same parents have been tracked? I'm pretty sure it is, and as such will add a valuable insight into how much genetics plays in migration.
Sandy Logie had two sets of chicks tracked. They were Heather and Thistle in 2007 and Glen and Moray in 2008. I am pretty sure that the male was the same both years and was black/white 6R later known as Talisman and tracked himself. As you know it was not a happy experience.
Tiger Signature
Absolutely, Tiger, and a salutary reminder that following juves on their first migration is not always a pleasant experience!
Apologize if this is repetitive info. I am catching up on this forum after a while:
Comparison of LG Tore and Bynack's pre-migration flight paths
The elevation profile shows that Tore travelled 85.8 miles and ascended to an elevation of 4085 feet prior to migration, where Bynack has ascended to 4857 and has travelled 68.9 miles to date (sorry I am in imperial measurements).
Bynack's satellite shows he goes on long forays every 3 or so days, and the end of his exploration is often his highest point before return. It doesn't look as if these respond to a high peak, but is his own PA (personal altitude!). Tore's pre-migration journeys followed a similar, though less clear pattern.
A comparison of the two shows that until August 6 Tore's discoveries were about the same distance from the nest as Bynack's. After 2 August they both extended their journeys. On August 6 she took a huge loop north, which I'm wondering might have been a test run, or she realized it was the wrong direction. After that she took longer journeys southwards, on 9 and 11 August which might also have been exploratory runs. We could analyze Bynack's pathways to estimate when he is ready to leave.
Unfortunately we cannot get a fair comparison in the totals (elevation, slope etc) since Tore has migrated and Bynack not. It would be have been great to do it before she left, but we didn't know when that was going to be!
It appears that Bynack is right on track from a flying-navigation developmental perspective, so perhaps we shouldn't worry so much about his failing fishing school! Using Tore's flight path as a model it would appear Bynack will be ready to go soon, perhaps as soon as 2 days. Conversely, the slowing of fish-upon-demand may reduce his explorations as his last journey was 14 August.