dantheman
Bah humbug
Migrating Borders osprey hitched a ride on cargo ships
Researchers find the bird - which was tagged in the Borders - took an unusual route south to Spain.
www.bbc.co.uk
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Hitchhiking Osprey (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter dantheman
- Start date
The lazy toad!!!
dantheman
Bah humbug
Not a toad Delia, it's a bird ... wrong number of legs for starters.
;-)
(And toads aren't lazy. Economical with their energy resources compared to some perhaps?!?!)
Clever if you ask me ... From the map it doesn't look like it took it that long to re-orientate from the second ship going the wrong way. Must happen reasonably frequently.
(And on the Cornwall side presume they mean RNAS Culdrose, and Croft Pascoe perhaps (site of Cornwall's third only Golden Eagle))
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A few years ago now, I was doing a survey for Marine life, on the Newhaven Dieppe ferry.
It was September, and an Osprey was disturbed from the ship, below the bridge, about an hour into the crossing.
It's unlikely the bird would have landed on the ship in port, or the first few minutes of the crossing, so our theory was that it probably got a fair way across the channel before landing on the ship during the ship's previous north bound journey!
Then sadly was disturbed at the start of its southbound ride, having to continue it's journey from further North than it had previously made it to.
So, in this case, the hitchike would have given him a rest, but in return for a longer crossing.
However, the northbound ferry is overnight (unless it was delayed!!), so would have implied overnight migration over the channel by the Osprey.
So, Maybe it did start it's journey from England, then landed on the ship about 10 miles over the channel, then left soon afterwards.
We will never know!
It was September, and an Osprey was disturbed from the ship, below the bridge, about an hour into the crossing.
It's unlikely the bird would have landed on the ship in port, or the first few minutes of the crossing, so our theory was that it probably got a fair way across the channel before landing on the ship during the ship's previous north bound journey!
Then sadly was disturbed at the start of its southbound ride, having to continue it's journey from further North than it had previously made it to.
So, in this case, the hitchike would have given him a rest, but in return for a longer crossing.
However, the northbound ferry is overnight (unless it was delayed!!), so would have implied overnight migration over the channel by the Osprey.
So, Maybe it did start it's journey from England, then landed on the ship about 10 miles over the channel, then left soon afterwards.
We will never know!
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Went on a cruise to Svalbard and Norway from Southampton. We were passing a few miles off north east coast of England when a homing pigeon landed on board. It showed no sign of leaving so the crew and passengers took to feeding it every day.
The captain made some enquiries, using the number on the ring around the leg and discovered it belonged to a pigeon fancier from Newcastle. Arrangements were made to transport it back to the owner when we got back to Southampton. During the cruise it would fly off for a bit of exercise then soon return to the ship, ready for its next meal.
Two weeks later it was still with us, until we reached the English coast once more, when it decided to fly off, never to be seen again. Amazing to think it might have sensed it was near home again and didn't depart until we were back off the coast of England.
Not sure if it ever made it home but we were sorry to see it go.
The captain made some enquiries, using the number on the ring around the leg and discovered it belonged to a pigeon fancier from Newcastle. Arrangements were made to transport it back to the owner when we got back to Southampton. During the cruise it would fly off for a bit of exercise then soon return to the ship, ready for its next meal.
Two weeks later it was still with us, until we reached the English coast once more, when it decided to fly off, never to be seen again. Amazing to think it might have sensed it was near home again and didn't depart until we were back off the coast of England.
Not sure if it ever made it home but we were sorry to see it go.
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dantheman
Bah humbug
What happened to Glen the hitch-a-ride osprey?
The bird from the Borders which migrated south via two cargo ships continues to surprise observers.
www.bbc.co.uk
An update on this bird. Interesting (sad/life) fate of its siblings.
