Hello Treia
First I would like to explain that the birdmap updates made by Urmas (if he has time for it), and the tracker maps we post here, are both based on the data retrieved by Ornitela (on their OrniTrack page). So if we can't report anything (about the BS with an Ornitela transmitter), neither can birdmap. (Some BS have a transmitter from another brand and aren’t on OrniTrack.)
Yes, it does seem that we are receiving less data this season.
I think for example of Timmu who sent data regularly from Ethiopia last winter and now nothing for quite some time already. I don’t know why.
Eedi used to be 'silent' every now and then in the past too. Maybe this winter more often than in the past years?
And Julge over France, well… who can say what happened? The connectivity in France is generally good. Did little Julge perish or is his transmitter faulty?
It is quite normal that birds will be out of contact starting from southern Sudan, or even already while flying over the western or eastern desert in Egypt. Only populated areas have GSM coverage in Egypt.
We can only hope that next spring they will all be back ‘on the radar’. For juveniles, it may even be late spring/early summer before they fly northwards again.
