The first Osprey chick fitted with a GPS satellite to return to the UK, is in Scotland, yet when he will return to his  birthplace at Rothiemurchus the Highland estate he was named after?

Rothiemurchus hatched in 2009 the oldest chick of a brood of three males from the female bird featured in BBC Springwatch in 2008. He is the first osprey chick fitted with a GPS satellite tracker by Roy Dennis, of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife to return to Scotland.  Roy has been able to see in detail his every movement from his first short flight on 18th August 2009, his hazardous migration to West Africa, his life there for the last 21 months to his exciting and surprisingly swift journey home to Scotland. Those logging on to the Rothiemurchus Estate website or the Highland Foundation for Wildlife website have been able to follow his progress, the weather and even see the terrain and villages he has lived near. He was last tracked on Saturday 4th June in Orkney and later in Glenmoriston.

Roy says: “What a fantastic flight by this sub-adult osprey – will he return to Strathspey or will he continue to meander through Scotland? We don’t know as this is the first two year old osprey we have satellite tracked so all the information is new. I'd never expected him to take in a trip to the Orkneys. It’s very exciting to learn more about the early lives of Scotland’s ospreys and so incredibly important to the work we do.”

Johnnie Grant of Rothiemurchus says: “We are excitedly and hopefully awaiting Rothiemurchus’ arrival which could be any day now.  I am delighted that tracking Rothiemurchus is allowing us to learn so much about this bird; my family has made a great effort to save Ospreys since the 19C; the last pair in the area nested at Loch an Eilein before they vanished from the UK as a breeding bird as a result of relentless harassment by egg collectors and my parents were very involved in protecting the first nests on their return to Scotland.  We have worked with Roy Dennis for over four decades and it is a privilege to be able to support his work and the work of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife.”

Rothiemurchus began his journey with a rather hazardous first autumn migration and was nearly lost at sea off Portugal after a direct flight from South Devon. Thankfully he survived, recuperated in the Portuguese mountains and later flew south to Senegal where he has spent two winters and a summer.

His first migration north began just before midday on 9th May and he made a fast journey over the Sahara Desert, crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Spain during the afternoon of 16th May. He then headed to Galicia on the NW coast of Spain, where he rested for several days.

Rothiemurchus left the Galician coast early morning on 29th May and flew non-stop over the Bay of Biscay to South Devon. He flew 830 kms in 28 hours over the ocean and came ashore at 11am on 30th May at Hope Cove, South Devon. He flew east to fish in Slapton Ley at 1pm - then rested until 4pm before flying NE at 71kms/hr over Totnes an hour later. He flew up through Wales and reached Kirriemuir by 10.35pm on 2nd June and on the 4th June he travelled up to the Orkney Isles and the to Glenmoriston.
                                                                                                           
To watch his migration: click here

About Highland Foundation for Wildlife - The Highland Wildlife Foundation is a non-membership charitable trust dedicated to wildlife conservation and research, with a special emphasis on species recovery projects and the restoration of natural ecosystems. The organisation’s aim is to carry out important work in the field through project-based activity and to keep administrative overheads to a minimum. Satellite tagging is expensive (over £2000 per transmitter and a year's download data costs £500 or more) so the Highland Wildlife Foundation relies on charitable donations and grants to carry out new research and to maintain the conservation work.