Osprey migration: from Perthshire to Africa

An osprey's eye view of the maiden migration from Scotland to Africa of FR3, a male osprey hatched at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes in spring 2015. Most ospreys take between 4-6 weeks to make the journey from Scotland to Africa, they can cover up to 100 km a day and can even fly up to 48 hours non-stop.

[@rhyannone]

That was fantastic, seeing an aerial view of the Osprey's journey. Bird's eye view quite literally. Well done Team.

[@lindamarino4693]

Amazing! I’m going to miss the chicks and their mom and dad. Now I know where they go! I live in the US and wondered. Thanks for posting.

[@cameonet1950]

6-12-2017 *** Absolutely incredible! THANK YOU! I've been following your osprey tracking maps, plus 2 others, for a couple of years and have never seen anything like THIS! Not to be picky but the description for the video here is a bit misleading since it was of FR3's maiden/first migration and not his "return" one. After spending his "gap year" in Africa, some of us expected FR3 to actually make his first "return" migration back to Scotland this spring but he didn't. Locating his current position on the map is difficult but I did find a data point of 02/06/2017 (June 2, 2017). Talons crossed that he survives another year down there and makes it back to *Loch of the Lowes* NEXT spring. ♥ ♥ ♥

[@ScottishWildlifeTrustvideos]

Quite right! Thanks for pointing this out we've amended the caption.

[@cameonet1950]

I hate pointing out errors in public but I felt obligated and had no choice in this case. Excellent! ♥ It appears that FR3 has decided to spend an additional "gap year" in Africa. The clusters of his data points are so close together that it's hard finding his current status. I hope he's still with us.

[@janetturner7489]

I have just discovered this with the migration route, amazing. I have been following the Arkaig ospreys, I was up there last year as I was at Loch of the Lowes too, where I became a member of SWT. I have two questions, I thought ospreys have a gap 2 years down in Africa, would this be so? At what height do they fly at when migrating, approximately?

[@suzycat2026]

Wow! Thanks for this link @Geemeff ❤ I've so enjoyed watching 2 families grow now. Wishing them all the best of luck on their long migration. Sad that no young came from Loch of Lowes in 2020, I hope they return next year. What a super video! Very well mapped & presented. Farewell Doddie JJ6 , Captain JJ7 & Vera JJ8 from Loch Arkaig nest, Louis & Aila are amazing parents🙌🏻 Good luck to all the Ospreys & other birds who make this long journey. I would do the same if I had wings! Fly to warmer climate for the Winter 🐱☯️🌌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@ScottishWildlifeTrustvideos]

We've got some great news Suzy. Sadly we've not seen the youngster on the webcam but if it appears before migration we'll be sure to post a video! More info -> bit.ly/2QqlLK3

[@suzycat2026]

@@ScottishWildlifeTrustvideos👍🏻 thank you! Just watched again.. Praying Aisla will return for Louis soon🙏🏻🙂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@gingerhipszky228]

That was so amazing!!!

[@brianbrocklehurst9224]

Excellent video, much improved from the previous one I viewed. Is it known where they made stops for feeding ? Just why do they choose to cross the arid Sahara rather than take a more westerly route close to the coast. Many thanks.

[@peterdebarra7851]

… this is superb - thank you SWT … each territory over which they pass - except for The Rock - poses dire threats to the birds en route South.

[@mickbee]

Brilliant

[@brianbrocklehurst9224]

Would have been even better if you had also shown a ground map rather than all aerial shot.

[@ScottishWildlifeTrustvideos]

Thanks for your feedback Brian, we might look into it.

[@cameonet1950]

6-12-2017 *** Hi Brian! It's actually quite easy. Go to the site >>> Osprey Tracking: Select >>> Tracking Season = Osprey tracking map 2015/16 --- un-check FR4. Hopefully, this link will take you right to it: scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/osprey-tracking/tracking-year/564/#block-tracking-map