"Urdaibai" Osprey (N1)

Biography

"Urdaibai" osprey is a female born in Contin, a little municipality on the region of Ross-shire, surrounded of large lakes and rivers. This is located in the inland of the Highlands of Scotland. This is a very few populated area.This bird can be identified from a long distance through a yellow PVC ring with a black code: N1.

“Urdaibai” is sponsored by Valvospain S.L.,  business group that is dedicated to the design and manufacture of industrial valves and wants to contribute to this conservation project.

Below you can enjoy with the migration flight of Urdaibai



 AUGUST 20TH.- We have no sign of Urdaibai

After a year following his adventures through African lands, the Satellite transmitter of the Osprey "Urdaibai" has stopped sending information, so we can not know the location or movements.

N1hegaz

The last signals it sent located the osprey in Somone Reserve in Senegal, a common place of wintering for hundreds of species, including ospreys. But we see no cause for alarm, as the place in which it is probably located is a safe place and the young Urdaibai has shown us to be a great survivor.

In any case, you may dispel all doubt when the young osprey released in summer in 2013 could come back to Urdaibai every year.

We are waiting for him.



AUGUST 8TH 

Urdaibai left a year ago on his journey to Africa, across the extensive Iberian Peninsula from the north to the south and flying over the Straits of Gibraltar to warmer climes to spend the winter there. In an effort to find suitable lands that provide food, in recent months it has flown Guinea Bissau, Gambia and Senegal following the coastline.

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With the help of GPS tracking technology, emitting an accurate indication of where Urdaibai is in every hour, we know that in the last days it is flying over the Somone Reserve, in Senegal. This reserve was created in 1999 with the aim of increasing the protection of the habitat. Somone reserve consists almost entirely of a lake connected to the sea. In this area you can see more than 150 species of birds.

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Different types of frigate birds, pelicans and flamingos are part of the birds that can be observed in the lake Somone, besides the large number of European Ospreys who meet annually to spend the winter there.

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It is early to know whether it will remain in this place any longer but it seems an ideal place because it is an area with large numbers of fish and dense mangroves, always connected to the sea, which means it does not dry out in the dry season in Senegal, which is our winter months.


 


 

April 1st. BACK IN THE JETTY OF PONTO

Our young Osprey is closer of the jetty from where she set off six days ago. With the first lights of the day, she has decided to start her travel and around 11.00 am she has flown over the city called Joal-Fadiouth. In this city, because of its position in the estuary, great part of the surface is regularly submerged under tidal influence. Urdaibai was already in the jetty at noon, next to the hotel complex.

So, Urdaibai has done more than 350 kilometers following the coast and crossing three borders (Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau) in scarcely one week, to return to the same place where she has stayed several months with a relaxing routine. You could find more details about the place in the travel report of Aitor Galarza that you will find below.

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A photo of Urdaibai took in Senegal

 

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March 21st. RETURNING

 

Urdaibai starts her new journey to the north and at 11.00 am and she crosses the border between Gambia and Senegal. She is returning towards the start point she left one week ago and her route seems to be the same, that is, many of the points we receive from the satellite coincide in the same places that she has gone over when she went towards Guinea Bissau.

Among these places there is the Delta of Saloum, that extends 72.5 kilometers along the coast and 35 kilometers inland. It is a delta with more than 180.000 hectares that was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Some of the birds that overwinter here are Flamingos, Spoonbills, Ruddy Turnstones...

 

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Delta of Saloum

 

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March 20th. AGAIN IN THE COAST OF GAMBIA

 

Urdaibai comes across the Gambia river at 16.00 pm, one of the biggest rivers in Africa. In the surroundings of its mouth, where is our young osprey, the river can even reach 20 kilometers across.
In the nightfall Urdaibai decides to rest in the edge of Gambia river, today has been a exhausting day and tomorrow new adventures are waiting for her.

 

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Surroundings of Gambia river

 

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Surroundings of Gambia river

 

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March 29th. NEW ROUTE TO THE NORTH

 

The following day, Urdaibai gets up early in the morning to make a small flight to the island that is next to the Pecixe island, this last one is known as Jeta island. But she will soon continue her journey, this time returning through the same way she has made some days ago. It seems that lands of Guinea Bissau don't offer her what she expected and she goes back to Senegal.

At noon she is less than 20 kilometers from the border with Senegal, and without stop her flight she continues inland. This eagle is insatiable in her search for more suitable lands.

 

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March 28th. IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF MANSOA RIVER

 

The following day she continues towards the south. In less than two hours she does more than 40 kilometers and at 13.00 pm she is already in the Pecixe island, which it is located about 50 kilometers west of the capital, Bissau, in the mouth of Mansoa river. Urdaibai decides to spend the night in this island. Which way will choose tomorrow?

 

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March 27th. THROUGH THE LANDS OF GUINEA BISSAU

 

Urdaibai decides to set off early in the morning. It seems that she is not very convince with this territory and she decides to find new lands. Around 10.00 am she crosses the border between Senegal and Guinea Bissau and around 11.00 am she gets into the sea 500 meters, probably finding fishes, although she does not take long to continue with her direction to the south. She is very close to a small village called Cacheu, one of the first Portuguese colonies due to its strategic situation next to the river, known with the same name, and one of the most important places for slaves commercialization in the north of Guinea Bissau. At midday she stops to rest, today has been a hard day. She is in an idyllic landscape, very close to the Cacheu river.

 

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Typical landscape of Senegal

 

 

 


 


 

March 26th. IN THE WAY OF GUINEA BISSAU

 

Our Osprey has crossed the border between the south of Gambia and Senegal as she has done before, doing 120 kilometers, she has crossed the mouth of Casamance river. This river is a type of sea arm that it is even below sea level, allowing to the ocean gradually going deeper into it. She has stopped close to the border between Senegal and Guinea Bissau.

 

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March 25th. URDAIBAI SETS OFF TOWARDS THE SOUTH

 

After her stay in the famous fishing village, close to the hotel complex in Ponto, Senegal; Urdaibai sets off again towards the south at 9.00 am. Her first stop to spend the night after a hard day, has been close to the town called Banjul, capital of Gambia. She has spent the night near the mouth of Gambia river.

 

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UPDATING 2014/02/23 - 2013 CHRISTMAS: FOLLOWING THE OSPREY BY SENEGAL

 

 Last Christmas, the head of the project, Aitor Galarza, together with a small group of friends, travelled to Senegal in order to enjoy his holidays while they tried to locate Urdaibai in situ. The goal didn´t seem to be easy although Aitor had had precise information provided by the ARGOS satellite.  A small extract of the journey is given below.

 

29th of December 2013

At noon we left Dakar, capital of Senegal. Our immediate destination is Ponto, a small fishing village where close to it is wintering Urdaibai, one of the ospreys of the recovery project released this year in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve.

The coast road goes straight through the savannah, dominated by grasslands and meadows, alternating with patches of low-growing acacia, where are remarkable for its size and beauty, the majestic baobas, that splash the landscape.

 

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Centenarian baobabs (Adansonia digitata) next to the road Dakar-M'bour

We have recently crossed M'bour, the second most important fishing port of the country. As in all of the settlements in Senegal, its main streets are noisy and messy. They are crowded of shops, garages and stands of fruits and food, which are surrounded by people that is shopping, doing business or simply chatting, lost in the traffic chaos caused by the heavy traffic of trucks, taxis and carts.

Outside of M'bour, we discover a large flock of vultures along the road taking notice of the remains of a horse. Besides of the griffon vulture, which is abundant in the Iberian peninsula and it´s only a visitor in this area, feed on the doping, other two species of similar size as the Ruppel´s vulture (Gyps rueppellii) and White-backed Vulture, (Gyps africanus) and some other specimens of the Hooded vulture, (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the Lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotus).

 

  5b

Vultures eating carrion

South of Nianing the road passes through a dense forest of young acacias where we observe a large group of Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas), and a flock of Helmeted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), where we also observe a Northern red-billed hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus).

 

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Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas)

 

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Northern red-billed hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus).

A narrow road without directions on it arises on the right, which we intuit that could get us down to Ponto. A couple of kilometers more and we reach the first houses of the village.

 

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A street in Ponto (Punta Sarene)

After crossing the streets, we take a track that runs parallel to the beach and gives the access to a couple of inhabited houses and a hotel provided of bungalows that seem to be abandoned placed 1 km far away from the village.

  

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Arrival to the coastal stretch where Urdaibai is wintering

At the car park we saw a huge Savannah monitor (Varanus exanthematicus), over one meter long that was going into the undergrowth. The beach is really big, over 10 kilometers from Point Sarene until Mbodiene, where the river flows. 

Many waders hang around the beach (Whimbrel, Dunlin and Common greenshank) and some herons (Grey heron and Western reef heron) whereas pelicans, terns, gulls and skuas fish in nearby waters. A Pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is stalking the fishes from the quay of the hotel and a marvelous Abyssinian roller (Coracias abyssinicus) is hunting from its vantage point.

 

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Inlet of Punta Sarene. Place where Urdaibai uses to fish

 

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Carrying a boat in Joel

 

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Western Reef Heron(Egretta gularis)

 

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Abyssinian roller (Coracias abyssinicus)

 

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Pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)

In the back, far away from the coastline, 3 ospreys fly around over the sea. Timing their activity, we realized that more than fifteen minutes of flapping flight were needed by the ospreys in order to capture a fish, which is a lower fishing efficiency comparing with the timing recorded in Urdaibai, which really attracts our attention. Despite the fish abundance in this coast, the sea condition and the wind certainly make harder watching the fish, decreasing the fishing success of the ospreys.

Behind the beach, there is an important area of mud inland, result of the flooding of the river during the rainy season.

 

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Mud behind the sand. At the bottom one of the baobabs that Urdaibai uses as perch

In this season of the year the mud is partially dried and we can distinguish on it the footprints of a hyena and a couple of jackals.

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Footprint of a Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) on the mud

Seven ospreys are perched on the mud. Rapidly we place the telescope, expecting that one of them could be Urdaibai. One is ringed, probably is Scottish but the intense reverberation complicating the ring reading although the distance is quite small.

 

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A ringed Osprey resting on the mud

It is 18:00 pm, soon will get dark and none of the ospreys we are seeing is Urdaibai. We are disappointed and we plan to try it again the following day, but first we have to find a lodging, so we go to Joal, located less than a half an hour from Ponto.

Joal is the hometown of Sédar Senghor, the first president of the country (1960-1980) and a renowned poet. A few meters after crossing a pedestrian bridge is Fadiouth, a mainly Christian village built on an island and surrounded by mangroves and marshy areas. Located also in an island close to the town stands out the cemetery for its beauty and originality. The white colour of the millions of shells contrast with the dark of the baobabs that grow in the island.

 

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Christian cemetery in Fadiouth

 

30th of December 2013

It is still night when we left Joal in early morning. Thanks to the information we get from the ARGOS satellite, we know that Urdaibai uses to sleep not so far from the road, so we go over the last kilometres of the road carefully finding, despite of the lack of light, the silhouette of the bird.

  

 19b

 

On a support of a power line we could see an osprey silhouette. We park the car quickly, we prepare the telescopes and... the eagle notice our presence and she flies. Would be she Urdaibai? Impossible to know as we haven't had enough time nor light to distinguish if the eagle has rings or antenna. Begins to get light so we headed to the beach where we were yesterday.

At 7:30 am we park next to the hotel. Will be Urdaibai there? The first thing from the car is to watch through our binoculars towards the jetty, as we already know that is one of her favourites perches. The jetty is still far but on the railling we could clearly see a silhouette of an osprey.

 

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The jetty which usually uses Urdaibai as perch

 

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At the end of the jetty is perch Urdaibai, resting

Exciting. Will be Urdaibai? This time it seems that she is!! Through the telescope we can clearly see the antenna of the transmitter that stands out of her feathers of the back.

 

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 "Urdaibai" next to a Little Egret

Despite of the distance we take some photos, in case she decides to fly. Slowly and hiding between the palm trees we approach to the jetty. She seems calm. There is nobody on the beach, but a young boy goes jogging towards the jetty and once he arrives he turns around to go back again to the town along the beach. Urdaibai doesn't seem scared and she only does a small flight to another part of the railling. Encouraged by this, we approach to the beginning of the jetty. We are just some meters far from her and Urdaibai doesn't seem worried. While we are taking pictures and we also filming her, we distinguish clearly the yellow ring with the inscription N1 that identifies her.

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"Urdaibai" watches us with curiosity. It seems that she recognizes us

At 8.19 am she leaves the jetty and she dives into the water 500 meters from the beach. Success! "Urdaibai" has captured a big fish in only three minutes, so apparently she has great skills to fish, which increases without a doubt the probability to survive and to return to the Reserve of Urdaibai. After having fish, Urdaibai flies directly inland, but we cannot follow her with our binoculars as the palm trees impede us.

 

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Watching the fishing skills she has from the jetty

We headed towards the mud area it is behind the beach, where we see three ospreys perched directly on the mud. None of them is eating, so none of them can be "Urdaibai". So far away, there is a specimen perched on a baobab. Either has a fish. Definitely we have lost her. We are curious to know where she has perched to eat and also where she has slept tonight. We must wait to go home and to check the information given by the ARGOS satellite. In any case, it has been a very exciting beginning for these holidays in Senegal. Next days we will visit the National Park of Saloum Delta in the south, which together with rest of this coast, is one of the most important wintering area in all over the world for ospreys. And more inland we will visit the National Park of Niokolo Koba, which is the last refuge for big mammals in Western Africa.

Once we are at home, we check through the ARGOS satellite that Urdaibai remains in the same points where Aitor and his friends left her. Today, 2014/02/23, she was perched on the railling in the jetty, and in the afternoon she has gone inland towards her resting place.

As we have seen, the place seems very peaceful, which gives us hope that Urdaibai can spend a period in the place before coming to us.

 

Good luck!

 

 


 

 

From December 10th to 27th - INSPECTING MBODIÈNE'S AREA

Our young Osprey continues with her established daily routine. She continues visiting the small dock in a hotel complex very early in the morning and later she goes into the Mbodiène Delta. It should be pointed out that she has been doing small excursions in the sea the last days, that is, she moves away from the coast during a couple of hours. Although at the beginning she makes only short flights, the last data we have received from the satellite show that she moves farther every time, probably to fish. Besides, she has done small excursions to Ponto, a small coastal village famous for its hotel complex.
 
Despite of the less frequent long flights, Urdaibai comes back always to the same areas to sleep, which are small wooded areas, very close to the coast. 

  

Coast of Senegal.                                                              Area where Urdaibai moves on.

The area where Urdaibai moves on is famous for its hotel complex, as every year thousands of tourists go there to enjoy the flora, fauna, beaches, landscapes, culture... without setting ornithological tourism aside, for bird's fans. In this area you can enjoy the presence of appreciated birds as Sacred Ibis “Threskiornis aethiopicus” or the Blue-bellied Roller “Coracias cyanogaster”.

 

Sacred Ibis. Author: Steve Garvie.



From November 18th to December 9th

It seems that our young Osprey has already found her wintering area. We can come to this conclusion after having seen the last localizations from the satellite, as in the last month she has hardly moved off the coast of the Thies region.
 
The habitual climate in Senegal has a rainy season with high temperatures from June to October, where it can reach even 40ºC and a dry season, from November to June, with cold temperatures. Therefore, it should be pointed out that our young Urdaibai is approaching to the coldest month, January. We must specified that as she is in the coast, temperatures, both maximum and minimum, are much softer.

  

A typical landscape in Sahel.                                          Coast of Senegal.

Senegal is a relatively big country, with contrasts between north and south, so the specific eco-region where Urdaibai is, is Western Sudanian Savanna, with big acacias and green fields.
 
Furthermore, analyzing the data from the satellite, we know the daily routine she does. First thing in the morning, she used to go to the small dock in a hotel complex, and after having spent some hours there, she comes back towards the small lakes that are in the small delta. Around more or less 18.00 pm Urdaibai used to rest, so she goes into wooded areas, probably because she finds more protection.

 

Image of Google Earth, showing Urdaibai's movements.



From November 6th to 18th - COMFORTABLE IN SENEGALESE COAST

Days go by and our little friend continues flying over the same area, exploring minutely every nook in the coastal relief.

Panoramic view of the Thies coast, Senegal. Author: Faisan.jeanluc.
 
This new place chose by Urdaibai is located in the region of Thies, being the second most populated region in Senegal after Dakar. The inhabitants of the coast depend on fishing, agriculture and tourism; as it was mentioned in posts before, our eagle is in Petite Côte, one of the most touristic places in Senegal. On the other hand, interior inhabitants survive thanks to the peanut crops and also to phosphate mining development.

Fishing ship in the coast of Thies, Senegal. Author: Bart van Poll.
 
Urdaibai has been moving continuously in those lands of the Serer people (west African ethno religious group) and she has flown over several rivers and towns as Ouoran, Ker Boua, Ponto and the already mentioned Nianing and M'Bour. She has also entered in the limits of the Nianing Forest.
 
As a curiosity, we wish to emphasize what clever has been the young Osprey, as during several days she has gone fishing to the dock of a hotel complex in the coast.

 



3nd November - APPROACHING TO SALOUM DELTA

We have received the first data of the day at 13.00 pm. Urdaibai had flown to the north and she had approached to the south of M'Bour river. After, she has flown again towards the south and after two hours she had already done 30 km with a speed of around 40 km/h. Around 15.00 pm she had passed the town called Joal-Fadiouth, located in the estuary, which is 15 km far from the big Saloum delta. Despite being this delta a natural paradise, especially for birds, the estuary of Joal-Fadiouth is a very appropriate one for Ospreys, where the ecosystem has the same elements that are in the heart of the Saloum delta: a landscapes of mangroves that are crossed by salted waterways called "bolongs", they are excellent places for fisher birds, and there are also small sandy islands and it is full of baobabs and acacias. 

Birds in a "bolong", in Saloum delta, Senegal. Author: Ji-Elle



2nd November - AROUND THE CITIES OF "LA PETITE CÔTE"

At 9.00 am, Urdaibai has started up again. She has crossed again the centre of M'Bour, but she has continues to the south. When she has crossed the river, our eagle has stopped a couple of hours, probably to feed in order to continue her route. She is travelling along the "Petite Côte", where are located most of the cities. For this, she hasn't taken a long time to get the next city, Nianing, also known by Urdaibai for her previous route. She has been here some hours in the river that crosses the city by the north.
 
Our Osprey has learned that she flies along the coast she will cross the big rivers, where she has ensured the fish.

Landscape of Nianing. Author: oft-quoted Mandrakev

She has chosen a small village close to the city to spend the night. 



1st November - URDAIBAI LEAVE DAKAR

Our young Osprey has left again the marsh. At 10.00 am she has set out to the south, as she has done days before, but this time she has done it with a higher speed: while her longer flights were around 6 km from stop to stop, today we have seen that after have done 22 km she continues flying, with a speed of 70km/h. It doesn't seem that she is making a small detour.
 
In two hours she has reached the coast of Senegal, leaving behind the peninsula of Cape Verde, after having flown around 50 km over the sea, and she has passed by the Somone lake, where she has raised height, around 380 meters, due to the draughts. This lake, with around 7000 ha, is a Natural Reserve, known as a sanctuary for a lot of bird's species that live there around all the year, as pelicans, flamingos and  7 species of herons. It is known as well that it has been chosen as a wintering area by Ospreys.

After having passed by this area, she has continued inland towards southeast, passing near big cities as Somone and Ngaparou, and approaching to the great city of M'Bour, which she has already visited the month before when she was going towards Senegal. Around 14.00 pm she has entered in the heart of the city and she was going around, moving away a little bit from the coast, towards the outskirts. Finally, at 18.00 pm she has stopped to spend the night 4 km far from M'Bour, an arid area, as it is typical of the climate of Sahel, full of baobabs.

Baobabs close to M'Bour, Senegal. Author: Udo Schmidt.
 
Once more, Urdaibai is doing the same flight she has done weeks before but in the opposite sense.


31st October - GOING AROUND

Urdaibai has left again her small oasis. This time, around 10.00 am, she has flown again towards the bay of Hann. She has returned soon to the golf course, but to a different area that she used to stay. We have located her perched on a tree, just in the middle of the golf course, next to a big lake.
 
An hour later, we have located her 6 km far on the northeast, close to Malika, a place where she used to stay before settled in the marsh. After another hour, around 13.00 pm, she was again in her habitual refuge, in the golf course of Technople, where she has finished the day.


30th October - A SMALL TOUR AROUND THE CITY

After having stay 20 days in the wetland without almost moving, it seems that Urdaibai has decided to go out of Technopole to make a small tour around the city around 13.00 pm and she has made it in more or less two hours. She has approached to the sea, to the bay of Hann, in the south of where she was, an area which once was a fishing village and which today, due to wastes of industries that were in the area, is very contaminated. 
 
Our eagle has flown over the area at a height of 80 meters after coming back to the green area of Pikine. Today's tour is over. 


From 21st to 29th October - STILL IN TECHNOPOLE

Urdaibai continuous in the wetland of Dakar, with the same routine. It seems that the golf course meets all her needs, as the last days she needn't to go out of the area for anything.

We will be attentive if there are new movements. 



From 10th to 20th October

It seems that our young Urdaibai has decided to settle in Technopole, from where she hasn't almost moved in the last 10 days. And she hasn't chosen wrong, as it is considered as one of the best places for birds in the peninsula of Cape Verde. A lot of water birds live there, such as herons, egrets, cormorants, pelicans, terns, spoonbills... Besides, it isn't the only non-seasonal lake in 100 km, so it won't have problems when dry season arrives. 
 
It should be pointed out that our Osprey doesn't move along all the wetland, but she prefers to settle in an area about 500 meters long, inside the golf course. We have begun to see that she has adopted a small routine, as she has her favourite places to fish, to perch and also to spend the night.


October 9th - GETTING USED TO TECHNOPOLE´S  WETLAND

First thing in the morning, our young Osprey has left again Malika and she goes to the west. After having stopped in a forest close to the beach, she has gone directly to a green area where recently she has stayed several hours. It is a wetland known as Technopole, located in the heart of the city, next to an industrial area that gives it the name. This wetland is one of the few that survives to agriculture and the urban development that have changed the surroundings of the capital. 
 
Urdaibai has spent the night in the wetland, again in the golf course, where there are some ponds, surely with a lot of fishes that have attracted her. 

Technopole wetland on the right, and the golf course on the left, marked in green.



8th October

Urdaibai  has waken up earlier than usual. After spending the early hours of the day exploring from tree to tree around Malika, among lakes and small forests, she has decided to return close to the capital. This time she has visited the bay of Goree on the south coast of the peninsula, close to Pikine, the most populated city in Senegal which is situated in the east of Dakar city.

Pikine city, Senegal. Author: USGS
 
After approaching the coast, she has returned to the city to spend a few hours in a large green mass of about 350 ha in the middle of the city that had passed by the day before, more specifically on a golf course that occupies part of the area. The next location has been Malika late in the evening, where she decides to spend the night in the same area as yesterday.
 


October 7th - IN DAKAR CITY

Today Urdaibai continues still in the peninsula of Cape Verde towards Dakar. She doesn't mind the people's presence, as she is crossing the most populated area of Senegal. At 8.00 am she had already reached the N'Gor town, just in the edge of the peninsula and she has perched on some rocks next to the sea, so it is possible that she had flown over the airport of Dakar. After that, she has continued flying over the north of the cost. She has stopped again on the beach, one of the key area for tourism in the capital of Senegal.

Dakar bay. Author: j.m. brunois



October 6th - TOWARDS DAKAR

The day begins today at 9.00 am. The journey to the north continues.
 
It is amazing to see how our young eagle is moving away every day from the region that we suppose would be her wintering area, an excellent ecosystem for an Osprey and where millions of migratory birds spend the winter every year, to go into dryer and more populated lands each time. In the morning she has crossed the city of M'Bour, with around 150.000 inhabitants, and after she has done some stops in the surroundings of the Somone river, that forms a pond very close.

M'Bour harbour, Senegal. Author: KVDP
 
At midday she has continued to the northeast, among crops, savannah and small villages. She has ovenighted inside a farm which is crossed by a small river, 20 km far from Dakar.

Birds in the lake of Somone, Senegal. Author: (WT-shared) Ankit1011



October 5th - LEAVING SALOUM

Today Urdaibai wakes up around 9.00 am and it seems that she continues with her purpose to retrace her steps, as she sets out to the north. She is flying very height and this time hasn't either stopped on the river.
The day has finished after she has travelled more than 80 km, in full savannah, just 4 km from the small town of Nianing.

Joal-Fadiouth, one of the coastal town that Urdaibai has flown over. Author: Gillespaveau
 
Tomorrow we will know if she continues moving away from her initial route.


October 4th - RETRACING HER STEPS

Around 10.00 am, Urdaibai has set out again to the north following the edge of the coast, as she has done last days, but in the opposite direction. It seems that she has the intention to do a big distance, as she has crossed again Gambia without making any stop in the huge estuary. She is doing a fairly straight path; it even seems that she has flown over the sea some kilometers, crossing the small gulf of Gambia. Besides, she has done her travel in considerable heights, above 300 meters.
 
As every day, at 18.00 pm she has stopped to rest again in Senegal, after have done around 100 km. As it can see in the image below, it seems that Urdaibai is retracing her steps. Today, she has spent the night close to the delta of Saloum, the first coastal area that she reached in her journey.



October 3rd - THROUGH THE CASAMANZA

Today, our young Osprey has flown over the north of the river, an area that she already known. She has approached to the coast, to finish 8 km away from the sea, in a more populated area. Today she has done around 100 km.



October 2nd - COMING BACK TO SENEGAL

The estuary of Cacheu is a perfect place for our young Urdaibai. Today she has spent all the morning exploring those green landscapes, this time up in the river of the estuary, with big mangroves and sandy areas, that seem are better conserved than those in the river mouth, where crops gain ground to mangroves.
 
However, at midday, she has come back to Senegal, again to the Casamanza river. In that point, the interior canals of Cacheu and Casamanza rivers, are almost joined and they share the vast mangroves, so she hasn't changed the ecosystem. She has finished her trip, as usual, at 18.00 pm, close to a village called Morikounda.
 
Casamanza river, Senegal. Author: Ji-Elle
 


October 1st - NEXT STOP: GUINEA-BISSAU

Today she starts up very early and she decided to leave Casamanza. She goes again to the south, without making stops, directly to the coast which seems to be her guide on her travels. At 13.00 pm she has entered in Guinea-Bissau and she has stopped when she has arrived in the coast, protected as National Park of Varela. 

Beach of the National Park of Varela, Guinea-Bissau. Author: Pis bus
 
She has to follow the coast only few kilometers until she has arrived in the big African estuary, this time the one of the Cacheu river, one of the largest in the country. A great part of this rivers forms the Mangrove Natural Park of the Cacheu river, with around 30.000 hectares of mangroves, being one of the biggest in Western Africa.

Estuary landscape of the Guinea Bissau's coast. Source: Associação Guiné-Bissau CONTRIBUTO
 
As in days before, around 18.00 pm she has decided to rest inside the estuary, in a mangrove area in the northern part of the river. Without a doubt, she has chose an area that is as safe and distant as spectacular.

 

Dormidero de Urdaibai, en los manglares del Cacheu.

September 30th– IN CASAMANZA RIVER

Today  Urdaibai spends  the day exploring the new possible wintering area.  She has moved closer to the main riverbed  which has a width of about 4 km.

 Mangrove in Casamance river, Senegal. Author: Ji-Elle
 
We don´t know if finally this will be the place which our young osprey will chose for wintering. We will be aware of her movements.


September 29th – GOING ALONG THE EDGE OF THE AFRICAN COAST

Our young explorer has woken up today very early.  After she has become familiar with her new location, she decided to continue to the south in order to find out new wetlands.
 
At 13.00 pm she has already crossed the border with Gambia. This small country, whose lands take up the the brooklet of the big Gambia river, is one of the wintering areas of the Ospreys, although it seems that in this case it won't be.

Gambia river. Author: Jurgen
 
Urdaibai has crossed across its less than 50 km in around an hour, and she hasn't want to stop in the river; so she goes along the coast to the south.
 
During the afternoon she has flown over the region of Casamanza, again in lands of Senegal. She has finished her travel around 19.00 pm in the north of the estuary of the Casamanza river. She is moving through a region that it is considered privileged because its nature, with similar landscapes that she has seen in stops she has done before, but these ones are greener once she is closest to the tropical area.

 



September 28th– EXPLORING THE DELTA OF SALOUM

After have spent the night from perch to perch, Urdaibai sets off again. She has a calmer rate: she flies making a detour around  the delta, with a low speed. Today she has done around 130 km.

Canals of the delta of Saloum. Author: KaBa (KaaBaa)
 
She has overnighted closest to the coast, a spectacular landscape, formed by small sand islands surrounded by mangrove swamps that are separated by the meanders of the delta. Besides, she is accompanied by lots of species that have been her fellow travellers  during her migration.

 

Hundreds of birds winter each year in the delta. Author: Ji-Elle



September 27th – SHE APPROACHES TO THE COAST

At 8.00 am she starts again her travel after have a long rest. Now she goes more determined to the coast and she goes directly to the deltas' area. Our young osprey has clear her destination, as she hasn't stopped her flight until she has met the huge Delta of Saloum, mouth of the river with the same name, which is full of bay that aren't deep, mangrove swamps and sand islands. A great part of the Delta is protected as National Park and it is World Heritage as it is a wintering area for many birds. She has already done more than 220 km.

Saloum Delta, Senegal. Author: USGS
 
She has spent the night in different places of the delta, probably feeding leisurely. Our young Urdaibai already knows which will be her place for the next months. Now it is the moment to explore it and to decide which is the best place for her.

 



September 26th – GOING THROUGH  SENEGAL

Just arrived in lands of Senegal, Urdaibai continues flying over the Senegal river during the first hours of the day. The river has 1800km long and she is in the last stretch of the river.

Senegal river. Author: Bourrichon.
 
In this region our osprey finds new different landscapes, dominated by the wooded savannah of acacias that takes up all the region of Sahel. Her passage coincides with the end of the rainy season, so it will be a landscape more alive than usual. 

Acacia's savannah. Author: Haplochromis
 
At midday she starts to get away from the river and going to the west, towards the coast of Senegal. Today she has flown the fauna reserve of Ferlo Nord, which has 1150 km2 and which is crossed by some intermittent rivers. Those months, besides, some small lakes and ponds are formed in the rainy season.
 
Today has been a long day after have done more than 400 km with a median speed of 55 km/h. She has finished the day at 19.00 pm close to the town of Soringo, next to one of the few roads that crosses the area.
 


September 25th – SHE IS ALREADY IN SENEGAL

After flying around for a while, Urdaibai  decides to carry on to the east instead of going straight to Senegal, she is moving away from the border between Mauritania and Senegal.

At noon she goes back to the way of the river Senegal and flies over Boguel Fadoua village.

At 17.00 she stops and sleeps at the edge of the river Senegal. She is one step away from the border.

The village of Boguel Fadoua from the air



September 24th– URDAIBAI GETTING CLOSE TO HER FINAL DESTINATION

Urdaibai has started a new day before 6.00 am, in order to take advantage of the coolest hours of the day. At 9.00am she stops to rest in a wooden area and continues flying two hours later.

Today will be a lucky because probably he will find small hidrological basins that will be useful to recover energy. He reaches the first one at 11.00, it is a place called N´Beika, a place with little bends and wooded areas.

N´Beika, Mauritania.

N´Beika, Mauritania, from Google Earth.

At 17.00pm she stops within 40km  of the border with Senegal, and she has little to reach the place of arrival.

She sleeps near a village called  El Kseiba, the worst of the trip is over. 

In the surroundings of Kseiba village



September 23th– TOWARDS GREENER LANDSCAPES

Urdaibai  has carried on with her journey early in the morning, there is no time to waste. She is leaving the harsh desert behind  to get into greener and more populated areas already in Tagant region.

 

Rachid, Mauritania



September 22th – GOING THROUGH ANDRAR REGION

Her new stage starts at 7.00am although at 9.00 stops for a while probably due to the heat . It´s remarkable that Urdaibai has flown at very high level, even sometimes reaching 2 .100ms  high. At 19.00 she decides to stop, very close to the well known Estructure of Richat few km far awayfrom the Tiris zemmour and Adrar regions. 

 

Adrar, central region of Mauritania. Authors: Ji-Elle and Manu25

Today´s journey has been really hard for our osprey, she has flown more than 420km from the dessert and almost without stopping.

Estructure of Richat in Sahara. Source: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04963



September 21th- ARRIVAL TO MAURITANIA

About 9.00am she has continued south  in order to cross Mauritania. We were surprised when we find out that Urdaibai, Urretxindorra and Brinzal passed  by similar points in the north of Mauritania, forming  a bottleneck in the region of Tiris Zemmour.

 

TirisZemmour, Mauritania.

At 12.00am  goes through the frontier among Argelia and Mauritania and at 18.00pm stops have a rest and spend the night.  Today has traveled more than 340 km throughout  one of the driest areas in the word. Tomorrow will be another exciting day.

 



Sepetmber 20th .- FROM THE ANTI-ATLAS TO THE SAHARA

At 9:00 she decided to go on with the migration. She passed by the east of Antiatlas mountains and among others, she crossed Jabel Saghro volcanic mountain range, in the border between the Atlas and the Sahara desert.

Jebel Saghro. Author: Hadraj

At noon she left Morroco and entered into Algerian lands by the east for crossing the Sahara, probably one of the hardest sections of the migration. She flew in this part higher than 2000 m and at an average speed of 60 km/h. At 19:00h, she decided to rest again and passed the night very close to Tinduf, where Saharan refugee camps are settled.

 

Sahara desert. Author: mtsrs                                           Tindouf. Author: European Commission DG ECHO



September 19th .- CROSSING ATLAS  MOUNTAIN RANGE 

On the 19th, she began the travel at the very first hours of the day. After crossing Fez, she began going through Atlas mountain range from the surroundings of Touerda town. At 13:00 h she saw the first mountains of the Great Atlas and at 14:00 gained altitude until the 2000 m and dropped the speed considerably. She crossed the Great Atlas in 4 hours and before passing the Antiatlas, she passed the night on Sus Masa Draa region, located among both mountains and at few kilometres from Tazekka Natural Park.

 

Tazzeka National Park



September 18th.- CROSSING ALBORAN SEA

After having passed the night on the coast of Granada, she decided to cross the sea at the height of Salobreña municipality. She dared to cross Alboran Sea instead of going to the Gibraltar strait. She had 160 km in front of her where she could not stop and she was at the mercy of the winds.

It's 7 in the morning and there she went!

She began gaining altitude at 200 m over the sea and when she flew 20 km, she decided to lose altitude for increasing the speed and she made most of the flight at 46 km/h.

The last 20 km were made almost touching the water and she reach the coast of Africa at 12 h.

Alhucemas gulf. Author: Ignacio Gabira                                                             

She entered Africa from Alhucemas gulf. From this point, she has gone to the inland close to Tifra locality and around 21:00h she has stopped at some cultivation lands close to Bir Tamtam municipality, where she perched on a power line pylon, close to Iddris reservoir. 



September 17th  URDAIBAI CROSSED SIERRA NEVADA AND ARRIVED AT THE LOW ALPUJARRA, GRANADA

On the 17th in the morning she leaved the mountain range to continue her journey to Africa, crossing the reservoir of Puente de la Cerrada and Sierra Mágina mountains, to the province of Granada around 11:00am. She went through Sierra Nevada flying 2500m high till Almuñecar coast where she arrived around 14:00pm. It´s been just over 2 days since she left Urdaibai up to the Andalusian coast.


After some kilometers offshore probably due to the adverse wind currents she decided to go back and wait in the granadian coast, around the towns of the low granadian alpujarra.

   

Low Alpujarra.                                                                      Almuñecar coast. 



September 16th CROSSING CASTILLA LA MANCHA

During the 16th,  she went through Castilla-La Mancha from Guadalajara, leaving Madrid on the right side and crossing Toledo by the west. Afterwards, she arrived to Ciudad Real to traverse the reservoir of Cabezuela in the municipality of Valdepeñas.



Cabezuela reservoir.                                               

Late in the evening she entered Andalucia at 22:00 h and stopped in the Sierra de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, and spends the night wandering around the Guadalimar river.

  

Sierra de Cazorla mountains                                         Guadalimar river, Jaén. Author: cosasdebeas



September 15th THE TRAVEL BEGINS

At 11:00am Urdaibai decided to begin her journey. After an hour without stopping, the next location was found in Ubide, on the bottom of Gorbea in the border between Biscay and Alava, about 50km from the marsh. She made this flight in one hour at a speed of 70 km/h.

  

Landscapes of Gorbea Natural Park. Author: Mikel Carrasco                        

After she crossed the mountain range of Gorbea, she continued flying south, across the mountain range of Cantabria and Ebro basin following the Najerilla river. She continued from La Rioja, crossing the Lobos River Canyon Natural Park, between the provinces of Burgos and Soria.

At 19:00 pm she decided to rest in the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara Natural Park where she ended the day around the Ocejón Peak, close to the town of Valverde de los Arroyos, at the height of 1600 m.

  

Cañon del Rio Lobos Natural Park, Castila and Leon. Author: Pallares1

In a whole day covered a distance of about 270 km, with an average speed of 65 km/h.

 


 

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