Our two young birds in Africa continue to do well and are sending us fascinating information regularly. Their  transmitter tags are programmed to collect location information every hour , where available, and then transmit that info  to the satellite at set intervals: during peak migration, every 2 days, but as of next week, every four days. So don’t worry if you haven’t heard any news of Blue YZ and Blue YD for a few days- we will continue to give you the latest news as soon as we have it.

Blue YZ is now in Guinea Bissau, cruising slowly north along the coast line, looking for a winter territory that is not already occupied by other ospreys- particularly defensive adults.

Guinea Bissau has over 350km of coastline and the whole of the western area is a swampy low lying delta, covered in mangrove swamps and small farming areas cut out of the tropical forest- The highest point in the whole country is just 300m above sea level.

With only 1.5 million people, but a long recent history of civil war, this area is not densely populated, but none the less hazardous for a bird like ours. The country’s current environmental issues include deforestation and soil erosion, as well as  overfishing and grazing .

The tropical climate has two seasons, wet and dry. The wet season is just ending, so the rivers and swamps are full, and from now to April comes the dry season, with average daily temperature about 25-30 degrees C .

Ranger Emma