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6th September
A batch of signals came in during the day, and I became worried that Moray had not moved location; and after examining the data carefully, including the activity counter, I was convinced that he was either dead or unable to move at Barvas.
I telephoned Martin Scott who lives nearby and he and a couple friends went and checked the exact position using GPS, and after some searching found the body of the young Osprey in a road side ditch. I am very grateful to them for checking so quickly. Some local children told them that they had seen the bird dead in the ditch earlier in the day.
It is possible that he had sadly been hit by a passing vehicle, and was found near a small roadside conifer, which may have been his last roost. This is a very sad end to the chick. He had a very difficult migration after running into bad weather; having to turn back out of the Cairngorm mountains on his first flight, then flying out into the North Sea and back off the Angus coast, and finally blown by winds and poor visibility to Rannoch, Isle of Skye and Lewis.
Young ospreys leaving Scotland really need good weather to make that first migration through Scotland and England successfully, and nowadays we seem to have so many storms of rain and wind in late August and early September. Let's hope his brother is successful, but he has also be blown in a dangerous direction into Ireland.
7th September
Martin Scott emailed to say the young Osprey weighed 870 grams, which is very light - he weighed 1446 grams in July and should have gained a little weight post-fledging, but his journey was very difficult in bad weather and he probably failed to catch fish sufficiently to feed himself and his weakened condition may have caused him to be hit by a vehicle.
As can be seen from the map above, Moray left the nesting area in poor weather and was then subject to the vagaries of the weather, being blown in different directions by prevailing winds and migrating blindly in overcast wet and windy conditions. Unfortunately he did not find a sheltered place to rest and fish, and wait for clear weather. This shows the difficulties for migratory birds leaving Scotland when the weather is against them.
Further Reading:
Next report: Nimrod starts his southward migration
Last report: Logie goes missing
Roy Dennis' Migration Diary