The Return of Roy and Livingstone

We can now confirm that two individuals from the osprey recovery programme have returned to Urdaibai. Txuriko, who arrived a few days ago, was joined by Roy this week. A third individual from the programme has been observed by the ranger Paul Lesclaux in the Courant d'Huchet Reserve in the French department of Landes. This osprey is known as Livingstone.

The male osprey Roy, whose namesake is Roy Dennis, the British naturalist and adviser to the recovery programme, was born in 2013 in Nairn, Scotland. He wears a yellow ring marked N3 on his left tarsus and a metal Aranzadi Society of Sciences ring on the right. Returning to Urdaibai for the first time in 2015, Roy revisited the area in 2016. He arrived on 14th April and stayed until 9th September. During this period he displayed territorial behaviour and repeatedly took branches to a nesting platform. However, he did not find a mate.

Named after the Scottish explorer and abolitionist, Livingstone was born in 2013 in Elgin, Scotland. This male osprey wears a yellow ring marked N4 on his right tarsus and a metal Aranzadi Society of Sciences ring on the left. Returning to Urdaibai for the first time in 2015, he was spotted on numerous occasions last year both in Urdaibai and the Courant d'Huchet Nature Reserve. This reserve is situated on the coast of Landes, which lies some 120 km away. It covers an area of 617 ha and is mostly occupied by wetlands, woods and areas of sand.