Bird Cams Around the World

Home Alone

By Michelle on July 13, 2013

It’s been another exciting day in Manton Bay. Not only has 1J been making regular flights around the nest, his sister 3J also took to the air for the very first time today! At 7am this morning she jumped from the nest up to the French perch but it took a few more hours before she’d built up the courage to leave the nest completely. She circled high up in the air and after a few minutes she landed in the tall Poplar trees behind the nest, a cool 80ft up! As I write she is still sitting in the tree, possibly wondering what to do next. Meanwhile, 2J has spent most of the day on his own, it’ll be a few days before he’s ready to join his brother and sister.

Feeding, washing, resting --- By Michelle on July 25, 2013

We’re now getting to the time of year when an empty nest in Manton Bay is becoming a regular sight on the webcam. The chicks are spending more time on their new favourite perches around the nest and 1J has even been venturing further afield. Here is another fantastic video from Dave Cole showing what the Manton Bay Ospreys got up to yesterday.

Africa calling – or will it be a Spanish winter?
By Tim on September 2, 2013

One of the key things we have learnt from our satellite tracking studies in recent years is that adult Ospreys are able to refine their migration route over successive journeys. By using prominent geographical features such as mountains, rivers and coastlines, they make the most direct flight possible without taking unnecessary risks. They are superb navigators and there is no clearer example of this than 30(05)’s first four days of migration this year.

When 30 wasn’t at her nest site on Thursday evening, we thought she had departed on migration, but it wasn’t until this morning – when we were able to download the latest full batch of satellite data – that we could confirm just that. And what a start she has made – non-GPS signals showed that by yesterday evening she had reached Cadiz in the south of Spain.

30 first bred at a nest close to Rutland Water in 2009 and has continued to do so each year since. Sadly this year her mate, 08(01), failed to return and she has spent much of the summer alone. Having failed to rear a family for the first time in five summers, we wondered how long 30 would linger at her nest site this autumn. She clearly felt the time was right to depart on Thursday morning because by midday she was flying south over Wellingborough, some 36km south of Rutland Water at an altitude of 600m. Over the course of the next four hours she made steady progress south at an average altitude of 750m, passing over Milton Keynes and then to the west of London.

By 4:30pm she had the south coast in her sights, and with conditions good for migration, she continued onwards, passing over Worthing and then out to sea. Her 168mk crossing of the English Channel took almost exactly 3 hours, and she made landfall just to the South-west of the busy shipping port of Le Havre, at 8pm. An hour later as darkness fell she was perched another 48km to the South-west, close to a farm in a typically rural part of Normandy. Under normal circumstances 30 would have roosted there for the night, but evidently still feeling strong, she continued south. We do not know exactly how long she was flying for during the night, but by 2:30am GMT she had covered another 119km and by 6am was another 41km further on, perched in an arable field 16km North of the Loire river. She may well have caught a breakfast fish because two hours later, at 8am, she was perched beside a small farm lake. She certainly deserved a meal because she had covered more than 540km since leaving Rutland Water. An incredible first day of migration....

Welcome to Africa
By Tim on September 3, 2013

Yesterday we were wondering whether 30 would linger in the south of Spain, or continue south to Africa. That question has now been answered because at midday today we know she was flying past Marrakesh!

After arriving in Cadiz on Sunday afternoon, 30 remained there for the rest of the evening. Having flown well over 1500km in just three-and-a-half days since leaving Rutland Water she was certainly due a rest. Cadiz harbour offers rich pickings for migrating Ospreys and, having caught a meal 30 settled down for the evening near El Marquesado.

At 7am next morning she was perched 11km further south, perhaps eating breakfast. An hour later though, she was off. Whilst most birds of prey actively avoid long sea-crossings during migration, Ospreys are much more powerful. It was no surprise, therefore, that rather than heading South-east to make the short crossing to Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar, 30 flew due south from Cadiz, direct across the Atlantic. At 8am she was 6.5km off the Spanish coast flying just 10m above the waves and an hour later she was 40km further south, with the Moroccan coast firmly in her sights. She made landfall just after 10am after a flight across the sea of approximately 110km. This is much further than the 14km crossing at Gibraltar, but using the more direct route across the open sea not only saved 30 time, but also kilometres. If she had stuck to the land-based route as species such as Honey Buzzards and Short-toed Eagles would have done, she would have had to have flown 80 kilometres further.

Having made landfall, 30 continued South-west, using the coastline as her guide. She passed Rabat at 2pm, flying powerfully South-west at 49km/h at an altitude of 490 metres and then continued to make steady progress South-west for the rest of the afternoon. By 6pm she had covered another 150km and was still showing no signs of letting up, despite the fact that her day’s flight already totalled 420km.

We don’t know exactly where 30 roosted but at 10am this morning she was 65km south of her position yesterday evening, migrating SSW at an altitude of 1000 metres. Two hours later she had made a distinct turn to the South-west and was passing to the north of Marrakesh. This change in direction was almost certainly due to the fact that the Atlas Mountains would now be appearing on the horizon. This vast mountain chain, which rises to more than 4000 metres in places, presents an obvious barrier to migrating birds. Our other satellite tagged Ospreys have actively avoided flying through the highest peaks and it looks as though 30 is going to do the same.

Once the Atlas Mountains are behind her, 30 will face the most arduous part of her journey. The vast and unforgiving Sahara. When the next batch of data comes in – either later tomorrow or on Friday – she will probably be crossing the desert. We wish her well.

Rutland Water - Around the Atlas and into the Sahara

By Tim on September 5, 2013

In the last update on 30's migration, I suggested that when we received the next batch of data she's be setting out across the Sahara. Sure enough, the latest GPS positions show that last night she roosted just north of the disputed Morocco-Western Sahara border, with the vast expanses of desert lying ahead.

We knew that at midday on 3rd September, 30 was passing to the north of Marrakesh. The imposing Atlas Mountains would have been appearing on the horizon, and this clearly prompted a shift in 30's course. At 1pm, with the mountains looming large in the distance, she made a distinct turn to the South-west; thereby avoiding flying directly through the mountains. She maintained this heading for the next four hours at altitudes of more than 2000 metres. By 5pm she was past the highest of the peaks and she turned almost due south, a course she maintained for two more hours of flying. Finally, at 7pm she settled to roost in an agricultural area to the south of the mountains after a day's flight of 293km. Here's a Google Earth video of her day's flight which demonstrates just why she changed direction as she did. If you like the song in the video, you can find out more about it here.

Next morning, 30 made a slow start. At 7am she had moved 5km south of her roost site and at 9am she was perched again, another 6km to the south. There are no obvious signs of water on Google Earth and it's more likely that these small movements were as a result of people beginning their day's work on the agricultural land. By 10am, though, she was migrating again, heading South at an altitude of 370 metres. She made steady progress for the rest of the day, maintaining a South-westerly heading at altitudes of 750-1000 metres. By 5pm she had covered 252km and at that point made another distinct turn in response to a geographical landmark. As our previous satellite-tracking studies have shown, many migrating Ospreys follow the vast ridge which runs South-west along the northern edge of the Sahara; and at 5pm that's exactly what 30 did. She followed the ridge for two hours, before settling to roost on the desert floor at 7pm after a day's flight of 324km.

30's isn's the only Rutland Osprey to have followed the ridge. Both 09 and AW followed the same ridge on their migrations in 2011. Its also very close to the place where 09 sadly died on his autumn migration last year. at 5pm 30 was just 41km from the spot where Farid Lacroix found 09's remains last September. Let's hope 30 has better luck as she crosses the Sahara.

Like all Ospreys that are migrating across the desert, 30 had to roost on the desert floor. Google Earth helps gives us an insight into the kind of landscapes that she is experiencing.

With the majority of the Sahara ahead of her, 30 will have to go at least three more days without fish. For an experienced adult Osprey this is something she is well-used to, but it will be a difficult few days of migration nonetheless.

Don't forget you can view all of 30's migration data in your own version of Google Earth...