“Mandela” is back in Senegal

Surprisingly, "Mandela" left Guinea Conakry just the same day of its arrival, but this time it headed for the north once again, arriving in Guinea Bissau. Once there, it slept few kilometres from Bissau, the capital of the country. Next day it continued with its long trip towards the north over Casamance (Senegal) and its marshy zones, until "Mandela" got to the Gambia River, where it rested that night. After that, it went to Senegal again from there, exactly to Sine Saloum, where it stayed a few days before, while heading south. Despite this is a good place to winter in, "Mandela" decided to go on along his north direction trip, while it overflew the zone that Urdaibai, the osprey we released two years ago, flew over. The 23rd of September it reached Cape Vert, close to Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Then, he unexpectedly went into the sea along 75 km and went back to sleep to the dunes of the shore.

Upcoming, "Mandela" flew to the Guiers Lake, a place it visited before, when flying towards the south. This lake is formed by the drainage of the Ferlo River during rainy season, being a tributary of the Senegal River. It has a surface of about 300 km² and is the drinkable water resource of Dakar, which is placed 200 km from there. In addition, this lake is an important resource for the fishermen, due to the fact that they can fish 2.000 tons per year. In spite of the suitability of this place for the ospreys owing to the high availability of food, the fishing activity is also a big danger for them and for other bird species, even causing their death because of the use of nets and other tools.

From Guiers Lake, the 26th of September "Mandela" moved about 60 km through the Ferlo River until it reached a shallow area where an isle is formed. It seems to be a quiet place, surrounded by sparsely populated and semidesert lands, that looks ideal as wintering zone. A week later, the 1st of October "Mandela" was still in this area and the information of the satellite shows us that it was resting or sleeping (speed: 0) and fishing regularly (speed: 10-15 knots; height: 25-40 m).