Looduskalender

SAILING THE SEA OF SAND

My blog this week uses the detailed telemetry from these new-fangled GSM tracking units. In this series, I will try to explain some of the different flight strategies that migrants use to conserve energy during their long-distance trips. With positions available every 80 seconds or so, we can see for the first time exactly what these birds are doing - and the results are "quite interesting"...

http://thewildlifewriter.blogspot.co.uk ... cking.html

Thanks for another interesting blog, Paul WLW.

Recommended to everyone who's interested in what ospreys actually do under migration. A bit of science doesn't hurt after all.


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On a much sadder note: eventhough ospreys (and many other birds) have the highest protection in Italy, and eventhough the annual bird slaughter has decreased considerably the last years, poachers and the likes still are a threat to migrating birds in Italy, including raptors like this unfortunate juvenile osprey who was gunned down. This one was lucky enough to survive, but it will take months before the injuries are healed.

Poachers shoot osprey (google translation, original article in Italian here: http://www.wwf.it/news/?11381/Bracconie ... -pescatore)

A chat with Roy Dennis in Dyfi;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxZgQLb ... uj7jN4I5Cg

Where/how did The osprey get its name ?

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
The Greek name for the bird, Pandion haliaetus, comes from the mythical king of Athens, Pandion, whose daughters were turned into birds, the Greek words halos, which refers to the sea, and aetos, meaning an eagle
The common name is from the Latin word ossifragus, meaning 'a bone breaker'

Osprey facts

SPREY FACTS
Scientific name : Pandion haliaetus
Wingspan : 5ft
Clutch: 3, but not all fledge
Sexual maturity: Three to five years
Diet : Mainly fish, particularly perch, pike, and trout

From a BBC article 2004.

Osprey underwater

Wildlife photographer Andy Howard captured a rare moment of an Osprey in the Highlands of Scotland swooping down at 40 mph and grabbing a trout underwater. It took five days to get the shot.

Many thanks for that catch!

Details have been emerging of how a young osprey tagged in the Scottish Borders hitched a ride on two ships during his first attempt at migration.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-so ... d-62967646