Hard on the heels of Blue YD’s sighting Stéphanie Darblade, our contact at Étang Blanc, saw Blue 44 last night at 18:55 (her time). How exciting that she saw him and she sent us this photo of the area he’s staying in, you can see why he’s likes it there.  A huge thanks go to Stéphanie and Kate for helping us get this sighting.

The latest tracking info shows Blue 44 is staying in that area so hopefully she’ll see him again, or perhaps anyone else who’s out there? He did take a wee tour away and headed down past Biarritz to near Angress before turning round and coming back. He’s a clever boy as he roosted overnight beside these fishing ponds so he wouldn’t go hungry.

The data so shows far from being exhausted or struggling Blue 44 is following a very familiar pattern,  sticking to a place he likes much like he did when he was here.  Has he found his winter roost or is he just stopping for a while? Only time will tell. We do know Ospreys do overwinter in France so it is possible he won’t go any further. Interestingly this could mean this is where his mother roosts in the winter. The theory is that chicks inherit a ‘map’ from their parents so they know where to go, perhaps this is one of the secrets of her success – a short migration and a smart survival move.

We were sorry to hear that 09 from Rutland Ospreys has been found dead in Southern Morocco, where Blue YD was yesterday. Following an appeal from the Rutland team they had an incredible response from Morocco and Farid Lacroix climbed up a difficult mountain to retrieve the body and transmitter. You can read all about it on their blog.  We’re so lucky that there’s such great international cooperation to help with these birds, long may it continue.

Lindsey