With the last data download on Friday showing FR3 firmly ensconced in France and FR4 halfway across the English Channel (two days previous), we were all eager to find out where the latter of our two young tagged ospreys had got to. The answer was: Spain!

FR4 would have made landfall on the north eastern tip of the Cherbourg peninsula in Normandy shortly after 8pm on the 2nd, roosting there for the night. Wasting no time, FR4 made an early start the next morning and covered a distance of over 250km (150 miles) over the course of the day, roosting in lakeside woodland to the north of the city of Nantes in the Pays de Loire region. The following day (4th) FR4 continued apace due south and by 12 noon was off the Charente coast, close to the seaport of La Rochelle. Crossing the Bay of Biscay at the narrowest point, FR4 reached its southern extent on the French side of the border with Spain by 8pm.

Arriving in Spain on the morning of the 5th, FR4 travelled SW through the Navarre, Rioja and Castile-La-Mancha regions, roosting for the night in a scrub woodland valley approximately 65km (40 miles) north east of Madrid.

View FR4’s journey for yourselves on the Osprey tracking page.

FR3 shows no signs of moving on yet but has been venturing around the local area each day in between hunting sessions at the fish ponds.

I thought you might also be interested to see a photo of the River Lizonne, which I mentioned in my previous post. As you can see it’s only a small river so probably not great for fishing but FR3 appears to be navigating along it when out exploring.

Jonathan