Osprey project: Update Feb-Mar 2001

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust

News for February and March 2001

11 February

S11, a Scottish juvenile, wintering in Senegal/Gambia,moved 160km north on 24 January. A new map has been added showing its movements since arriving in West Africa.

S12, another Scottish juvenile, took an easterly migration route as far as central Sahara. Its migration map has been redrawn, showing the latest movements.

T03, one of last year's translocated birds resumed its migration from Cadiz in December. Its migration map now shows its flight south across the Atlas mountains into Western Sahara.

Details of birds S06, S18, T01, T02, S09, S10 updated

Summary of flights of Ospreys satellite-tracked in 2000

Summary of flights of Ospreys satellite-tracked in 1999

Life cycle of the Osprey
How long can Ospreys live? Longer than previously thought - a new longevity record.

All about Ospreys: Bits and pieces
Report from the Daily Telegraph: Loch osprey eaten by crocodile.

When will the first Osprey re-appear in the UK? Last year it was 22 February - see Reports of Ospreys seen in Spring 2000

The website of Rutland Water Nature Reserve is once again being updated on a weekly basis. You will find a list of recent sightings, news about the extension to the visitor centre, a weekly bird picture, and many other features about what is happening at the home of the Osprey Project. The website is at www.rutlandwater.org.uk

18 February

Morocco movements

We were interested to see that there were several good quality transmissions from T02 's radio once again - its details and map have been updated. Comparing its position with the previous good-quality one on Boxing Day, it seems to have moved about 1.3km. Can anyone help by describing the habitat in the area - would there be a food supply there?

Schools want to link up

There are several primary schools in Rutland who are undertaking projects linked to the Osprey project. They would like to get in contact with other schools along the Ospreys' migration route in order to share information about what life is like in that part of the world - both for Ospreys and for children!

Please can you help us contact any schools which might be interested in establishing links in this way? We would particularly like to communicate with schools in France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and north west Africa. Please send us an e-mail if you can help.

From Sweden to Ghana, via Kent

The British Trust for Ornithology recented published the following details concerning the migration of a young Swedish Osprey, ring number SVS 9259980.
It was ringed in the nest near Stamnared in Sweden on 21 July 1999. On 14th October that year it was found entangled in nets to protect crops near Deal, Kent. It was released and made it to Ghana where it was found dead on the banks of Lake Volta on 7 January 2000.

None of the Ospreys that we have tracked , which originate from the UK, have migrated as far as Ghana, but many ringing recoveries have shown that the Swedish population winters further south and east .

25 February

T02 in Morocco

On 18th and 19th February we received the most accurate locations for T02, both having an accuracy of better than 150m. The two locations were just over 1km apart indicating that the bird is still moving. Later in the week the locations were much less accurate.

In response to last week's request for details about the area, Patrick Bergier sent us a fascinating detailed description of that part of Morocco. Click here to read those details on T02's page.

We also heard from Joachim Hellmich who is currently working in the area. He confirmed that generally it seems an inhospitable place for Ospreys.

News from France

We have received some interesting information from Rolf Wahl in France. It is drawn from a newsletter entitled Balbuzard Infos and produced by Missions Fonds d'intervention pour les repaces de la LPO. (Email: lpo.mission-fir@wanadoo.fr)

The newsletter reports the efforts that were made to locate Osprey T02 during its stay near Nogent-le-Rotrou in northern France last autumn and also the passage of T04 and its mother S06 through les Sables d'Orlonne.

There are also excellent reports of breeding successes in France: 32 young birds fledged in Corsica and 17 in the Central region. Elsewhere a complete nest was discovered in the Ardennes and Ospreys were recorded during the summer months in several other parts of France.

Why are Ospreys called Balbuzard in France? Rolf Wahl has explained - go to the page on Osprey Etymology and literature.

3 March

More news from France.

When S06 was sighted near Les Sables d'Olonne on the coast of Vendée, in August last year, she was one of 19 Ospreys recorded at the bird observatory during the autumn. The complete list has been sent to us by Didier Desmots and we have added the list to the Sightings pages.

On 18 February we gave details of a Swedish-ringed Osprey which made its way to Ghana via Kent. If you are interested to see more about the migration of Swedish Ospreys, the web site below shows a map indicating all recoveries of Swedish-ringed Ospreys up to 1995: www.nrm.se/rc/osprey.html.en

11 March

There was a further small move for S11, one of S06's young - it moved about 60km SE within the Sine Saloum Delta. Three very accurate locations for T02 arrived this week, showing small movements in the same area as previously south of the Atlas Mts in Morocco.

Rutland Water Nature Reserve remains closed to the public as a precautionary response to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. With bird watching througout the UK severely curtailed, it is difficult to report with any confidence on the first arrival of Ospreys. Some of the websites which give daily reports from the south coast of England indicate that the first migrant passerines and other species are beginning to show up:

Kent Ornithological Society have reported Chiffchaff and Sand Martin;

Sussex Ornithological Society have reported Sandwich Tern and Avocet;

Ralph Hollins' Nature Notes for the Havant Area, Hampshire has reported Wheatear and Sand Martin.

So far this year we know of no Osprey observed in the UK. Last year there were regular reports from early March. Click here to see a list of sightings that came our way a year ago.

Tim Hodge, the Archivist of the Kent Ornithogical Society, has sent us all the society's records of Ospreys seen in that county from 1995 to 2000 and these have been added to the Sightings pages of this website.

17 March

They have arrived!

A first flurry of sightings of Ospreys in the UK reached us this week.

Allan Bantick reported that he has spoken to the manager of the Aviemore Fish Farm. To Allan's astonishment he learned that two Ospreys have already been seen hunting there - one on Sunday 11th March and one on Monday 12th March. The sightings were reported separately by two different members of staff, both of whom know only too well what a hunting Osprey looks like - they have them overhead everyday during the summer! Information about the fish farm, one of the best places to watch Ospreys fishing, can be found at http://www.rothiemurchus.net/birdwatching.html
On Tuesday 13 March an Osprey was seen flying north at Rutland Water by one of the farmers with land adjacent to the nature reserve.

On the afternoon of Thursday 15 March, Graham Ramsay of Blairgowrie saw an Osprey flying north up the A9 about 1 mile north of Perth (at the river Almond). He had an excellent (though brief) view in good sunny weather.

On Friday 16 March, another Osprey was seen at Rutland Water by Anglian Water's David Moore.

Click here to see a list of early sightings that came our way in 2000.

Ils sont arrivees!

Meanwhile in France...Rolf Wahl reports...

I just saw on your site that no Ospreys had yet been seen in Britain this year. Here in the central region of France where I monitor eight breeding pairs in the Orleans forest, two pairs arrived (identified by rings and specific behaviour, using the same perches as in previous years etc.) on 8 March. They are "neighbours" at 5 km from each other.
On 7 March there arrived "the Red Hot Bitch from the East" , a female born in former East Germany wearing a red colour ring coded OYO. This particular bird, born in 1992, has bred here since (probably) 1995. This particular female Osprey usually arrives one week to ten days ahead of her "regular" mate. She is often mated by other males, before her regular mate arrives.

But my question is: why did OYO on 31 July, 1999, after having reared three young that fledged in early July, go over to a new bachelor male that had built at least three full nests only 500m to 1 km from OYO's nest? She then copulated with her new neighbour in the late summer season. I have never heard of Ospreys that have clutches twice in a season, has anybody else?

More regional sightings - Hull

Thanks to Rich Broughton who is currently collating bird records for a book on the birds of the Hull area, in East Yorkshire. He has sent us the records of Osprey sightings for that area and these have been added to the Sightings pages of this website.

Transmissions received this week via the satellite gave locations for
S06, S10, and T02
There were no significant changes of position for these birds. in particular the two adults, S06 and S10 have not yet begun to move north. By going to their web pages you can find out when they started to migrate last year.

25 March

Interesting news from the satellite

Transmissions received this week via the satellite gave locations for S06, S11, S18, and T02.

There was no significant change of position for S06 in Central Spain - last year she began to move on 27 March. However, her mate S18 had moved 445km NNE from Sine Saloum where it spent the winter. Last Sunday it was north of the Senegal river, inside Mauretania. A new map, which we hope will show the whole of its northward migration, has been added to its webpage.

The juvenile S11 has returned to its position to the N of the Sine Saloum Delta after a short 60km excursion. See its webpage for details.

More excellent quality transmissions from T02 's radio in Morocco, showing movements of several kilometres.

A few more UK sightings

Nancy & Bill Cuthbert saw an Osprey at 12.20 pm on Thursday 22/3, just north of the A95, approx 15 miles NE of Grantown on Spey - being mobbed by a crow.

The Sussex Ornithological Society website reported an Osprey seen near Horsham on 23/3.

The Focalpoint email service has resumed this week and reported the following:

19th Mar LANCASHIRE : OSPREY : Leighton Moss RSPB : viewable from rear car park, you do not have to enter reserve.
18th Mar CLWYD : OSPREY : Whitford : nr Holywell REPORTED 10.30am perched & in flight.

18th Mar HAMPSHIRE : OSPREY : Andover : 9am N.over Enham Alamein.

Meanwhile what's happening at Rutland Water...?

To see what part this large disk plays in the Osprey project, please click here.

Cactus nest

Last week the page entitled Bits and Pieces was updated (this is part of the "All about Ospreys" section of this website). You will find there some pictures of very unusual nest sites, including a new one we received from Ruud Kampf, of a nest in the Mexican desert.

28 March

Latest migration news

By yesterday, 27 March S18 had flown a further 2562km across NW Africa and into Spain. It's map has been updated.

Also yesterday we had the first indication that S10 the adult male Osprey had begun moving north from Its wintering position just S of Nouadhibou, Mauretania ( the same as last year). Yesterday it had moved 480km NE into Western Sahara - apparently total desert, about 200km E of Dakla. The interesting thing is that this is only 8km from the point where it was on 24 March last year and very close to a location where it was detected during its journey south in 1999. It certainly seems that this bird follows the same route in this part of its migration. The two maps on S10 's web page show this very clearly.

What a shame that we won't get another position on S10 for 10 or 11 days. If the bird were to continue at the same rate as last year it would be crossing the English Channel by then. Also on this basis, its estimated arrival date back in Speyside is 11April. It's return last year was on 8 April and was vividly described by Roy Dennis. Click here to see his e-mail.

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11 February	S11, a Scottish juvenile, wintering in Senegal/Gambia,moved 160km north on 24 January. A new map has been added showing its movements since arriving in West Africa. S12, another Scottish juvenile, took an easterly migration route as far as central Sahara. Its migration map has been redrawn, showing the latest movements. T03, one of last year's translocated birds resumed its migration from Cadiz in December. Its migration map now shows its flight south across the Atlas mountains into Western Sahara. Details of birds S06, S18, T01, T02, S09, S10 updated Summary of flights of Ospreys satellite-tracked in 2000 Summary of flights of Ospreys satellite-tracked in 1999 Life cycle of the Osprey How long can Ospreys live? Longer than previously thought - a new longevity record. All about Ospreys: Bits and pieces Report from the Daily Telegraph: Loch osprey eaten by crocodile. When will the first Osprey re-appear in the UK? Last year it was 22 February - see Reports of Ospreys seen in Spring 2000 The website of Rutland Water Nature Reserve is once again being updated on a weekly basis. You will find a list of recent sightings, news about the extension to the visitor centre, a weekly bird picture, and many other features about what is happening at the home of the Osprey Project. The website is at www.rutlandwater.org.uk
18 February	Morocco movements We were interested to see that there were several good quality transmissions from T02 's radio once again - its details and map have been updated. Comparing its position with the previous good-quality one on Boxing Day, it seems to have moved about 1.3km. Can anyone help by describing the habitat in the area - would there be a food supply there? Schools want to link up There are several primary schools in Rutland who are undertaking projects linked to the Osprey project. They would like to get in contact with other schools along the Ospreys' migration route in order to share information about what life is like in that part of the world - both for Ospreys and for children! Please can you help us contact any schools which might be interested in establishing links in this way? We would particularly like to communicate with schools in France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and north west Africa. Please send us an e-mail if you can help. From Sweden to Ghana, via Kent The British Trust for Ornithology recented published the following details concerning the migration of a young Swedish Osprey, ring number SVS 9259980. It was ringed in the nest near Stamnared in Sweden on 21 July 1999. On 14th October that year it was found entangled in nets to protect crops near Deal, Kent. It was released and made it to Ghana where it was found dead on the banks of Lake Volta on 7 January 2000. None of the Ospreys that we have tracked , which originate from the UK, have migrated as far as Ghana, but many ringing recoveries have shown that the Swedish population winters further south and east .
25 February	T02 in Morocco On 18th and 19th February we received the most accurate locations for T02, both having an accuracy of better than 150m. The two locations were just over 1km apart indicating that the bird is still moving. Later in the week the locations were much less accurate. In response to last week's request for details about the area, Patrick Bergier sent us a fascinating detailed description of that part of Morocco. Click here to read those details on T02's page. We also heard from Joachim Hellmich who is currently working in the area. He confirmed that generally it seems an inhospitable place for Ospreys. News from France We have received some interesting information from Rolf Wahl in France. It is drawn from a newsletter entitled Balbuzard Infos and produced by Missions Fonds d'intervention pour les repaces de la LPO. (Email: lpo.mission-fir@wanadoo.fr) The newsletter reports the efforts that were made to locate Osprey T02 during its stay near Nogent-le-Rotrou in northern France last autumn and also the passage of T04 and its mother S06 through les Sables d'Orlonne. There are also excellent reports of breeding successes in France: 32 young birds fledged in Corsica and 17 in the Central region. Elsewhere a complete nest was discovered in the Ardennes and Ospreys were recorded during the summer months in several other parts of France. Why are Ospreys called Balbuzard in France? Rolf Wahl has explained - go to the page on Osprey Etymology and literature.
3 March	More news from France. When S06 was sighted near Les Sables d'Olonne on the coast of Vendée, in August last year, she was one of 19 Ospreys recorded at the bird observatory during the autumn. The complete list has been sent to us by Didier Desmots and we have added the list to the Sightings pages. On 18 February we gave details of a Swedish-ringed Osprey which made its way to Ghana via Kent. If you are interested to see more about the migration of Swedish Ospreys, the web site below shows a map indicating all recoveries of Swedish-ringed Ospreys up to 1995: www.nrm.se/rc/osprey.html.en
11 March	There was a further small move for S11, one of S06's young - it moved about 60km SE within the Sine Saloum Delta. Three very accurate locations for T02 arrived this week, showing small movements in the same area as previously south of the Atlas Mts in Morocco. Rutland Water Nature Reserve remains closed to the public as a precautionary response to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. With bird watching througout the UK severely curtailed, it is difficult to report with any confidence on the first arrival of Ospreys. Some of the websites which give daily reports from the south coast of England indicate that the first migrant passerines and other species are beginning to show up: Kent Ornithological Society have reported Chiffchaff and Sand Martin; Sussex Ornithological Society have reported Sandwich Tern and Avocet; Ralph Hollins' Nature Notes for the Havant Area, Hampshire has reported Wheatear and Sand Martin. So far this year we know of no Osprey observed in the UK. Last year there were regular reports from early March. Click here to see a list of sightings that came our way a year ago. Tim Hodge, the Archivist of the Kent Ornithogical Society, has sent us all the society's records of Ospreys seen in that county from 1995 to 2000 and these have been added to the Sightings pages of this website.
17 March	They have arrived! A first flurry of sightings of Ospreys in the UK reached us this week. Allan Bantick reported that he has spoken to the manager of the Aviemore Fish Farm. To Allan's astonishment he learned that two Ospreys have already been seen hunting there - one on Sunday 11th March and one on Monday 12th March. The sightings were reported separately by two different members of staff, both of whom know only too well what a hunting Osprey looks like - they have them overhead everyday during the summer! Information about the fish farm, one of the best places to watch Ospreys fishing, can be found at http://www.rothiemurchus.net/birdwatching.html On Tuesday 13 March an Osprey was seen flying north at Rutland Water by one of the farmers with land adjacent to the nature reserve. On the afternoon of Thursday 15 March, Graham Ramsay of Blairgowrie saw an Osprey flying north up the A9 about 1 mile north of Perth (at the river Almond). He had an excellent (though brief) view in good sunny weather. On Friday 16 March, another Osprey was seen at Rutland Water by Anglian Water's David Moore. Click here to see a list of early sightings that came our way in 2000. Ils sont arrivees! Meanwhile in France...Rolf Wahl reports... I just saw on your site that no Ospreys had yet been seen in Britain this year. Here in the central region of France where I monitor eight breeding pairs in the Orleans forest, two pairs arrived (identified by rings and specific behaviour, using the same perches as in previous years etc.) on 8 March. They are "neighbours" at 5 km from each other. On 7 March there arrived "the Red Hot Bitch from the East" , a female born in former East Germany wearing a red colour ring coded OYO. This particular bird, born in 1992, has bred here since (probably) 1995. This particular female Osprey usually arrives one week to ten days ahead of her "regular" mate. She is often mated by other males, before her regular mate arrives. But my question is: why did OYO on 31 July, 1999, after having reared three young that fledged in early July, go over to a new bachelor male that had built at least three full nests only 500m to 1 km from OYO's nest? She then copulated with her new neighbour in the late summer season. I have never heard of Ospreys that have clutches twice in a season, has anybody else? More regional sightings - Hull Thanks to Rich Broughton who is currently collating bird records for a book on the birds of the Hull area, in East Yorkshire. He has sent us the records of Osprey sightings for that area and these have been added to the Sightings pages of this website. Transmissions received this week via the satellite gave locations for S06, S10, and T02 There were no significant changes of position for these birds. in particular the two adults, S06 and S10 have not yet begun to move north. By going to their web pages you can find out when they started to migrate last year.
25 March	Interesting news from the satellite Transmissions received this week via the satellite gave locations for S06, S11, S18, and T02. There was no significant change of position for S06 in Central Spain - last year she began to move on 27 March. However, her mate S18 had moved 445km NNE from Sine Saloum where it spent the winter. Last Sunday it was north of the Senegal river, inside Mauretania. A new map, which we hope will show the whole of its northward migration, has been added to its webpage. The juvenile S11 has returned to its position to the N of the Sine Saloum Delta after a short 60km excursion. See its webpage for details. More excellent quality transmissions from T02 's radio in Morocco, showing movements of several kilometres. A few more UK sightings Nancy & Bill Cuthbert saw an Osprey at 12.20 pm on Thursday 22/3, just north of the A95, approx 15 miles NE of Grantown on Spey - being mobbed by a crow. The Sussex Ornithological Society website reported an Osprey seen near Horsham on 23/3. The Focalpoint email service has resumed this week and reported the following: 19th Mar LANCASHIRE : OSPREY : Leighton Moss RSPB : viewable from rear car park, you do not have to enter reserve. 18th Mar CLWYD : OSPREY : Whitford : nr Holywell REPORTED 10.30am perched & in flight. 18th Mar HAMPSHIRE : OSPREY : Andover : 9am N.over Enham Alamein. Meanwhile what's happening at Rutland Water...? To see what part this large disk plays in the Osprey project, please click here. Cactus nest Last week the page entitled Bits and Pieces was updated (this is part of the "All about Ospreys" section of this website). You will find there some pictures of very unusual nest sites, including a new one we received from Ruud Kampf, of a nest in the Mexican desert.
28 March	Latest migration news By yesterday, 27 March S18 had flown a further 2562km across NW Africa and into Spain. It's map has been updated. Also yesterday we had the first indication that S10 the adult male Osprey had begun moving north from Its wintering position just S of Nouadhibou, Mauretania ( the same as last year). Yesterday it had moved 480km NE into Western Sahara - apparently total desert, about 200km E of Dakla. The interesting thing is that this is only 8km from the point where it was on 24 March last year and very close to a location where it was detected during its journey south in 1999. It certainly seems that this bird follows the same route in this part of its migration. The two maps on S10 's web page show this very clearly. What a shame that we won't get another position on S10 for 10 or 11 days. If the bird were to continue at the same rate as last year it would be crossing the English Channel by then. Also on this basis, its estimated arrival date back in Speyside is 11April. It's return last year was on 8 April and was vividly described by Roy Dennis. Click here to see his e-mail.