Stan is a male osprey who after being fitted with a satellite transmitter as a chick at a nest somewhere in the Findhorn region of eastern Scotland finally left his his tree top eyire at 10.30 on 12th September 2012 setting out on his first southerly migration to Africa.
After flying across the Cairngorm mountains, crossing over Pitlochry, Loch Leven he then passing above the forth road bridge. By 5pm he was near Wigton, he then crossed over the Lake District reaching Preston at 7pm before heading further south towards Market Drayton having covered 328 miles in 9 hours.
By the 20th September Stan had managed to fly over 1560 km (967 miles) over the Atlantic Ocean to make safe landfall on the Cape Verdes Islands of the western Sahara coast.
To view further details about Stans movements and history click on his link
The loss of three ospreys from the Lake District’s Bassenthwaite nest site
Osprey number 13 was a bird from this years Lake District site at Bassenthwaite north of Keswick. Sadly, after making a good start on his first migration south it is being reported satellite contact was lost at 7.00am Monday 10th September from an area north west of Alicante and two miles north east of Ibi in South east Spain .
What could have happened to such a youthful bird seemingly full of energy, an osprey that has flown over three major cities there is no way of knowing? He could be one of the many ospreys that become a victim of their first migration flight. He could have come to an end at the hands of man or nature. Both young ospreys 11 and 12 had been lost before, possibly to these forces, or to other unknown influences.
This termination, however, seems odd. All the readings we have from September are from different locations, some of the changes it must be said are very small, but would indicate a moving transmitter. With 11 and 12 the signal tended to come from the same location towards their end, but with Number 13 they seemed to be still moving. If this was not a traumatic incident what are the alternatives? Could it be a technical failure?
The death of a Rutland ospey number 09
Rutland Osprey number 09 was found dead 21st September in southernMorocco, the cause of death is not known at this time.
The final location of osprey 09 demonstrates that even an experienced Osprey like this bird was – having already migrated the equivalent of three times round the world in his lifetime – is not immune to the dangers of the 3000 mile flight to West Africa. Migration is an incredibly demanding time for the birds, whether juveniles or adults, and satellite-tracking studies are proving that.
The British ospreys have become something of a phenomenon! What a triumph of conservation. Roll on next spring when they will return for a better summer