Up to now, two of the 12 young Osprey reintroduced this year to Switzerland have migrated, and we have just had some wonderful news: both have been seen on a stop-over in France! We have only once before had one of our birds identified during its autumn migration in Europe: Georges F03, spotted in Spain in September 2018.

This summer, Zeppelin (F26) was our first bird to leave on August 15, a week before the earliest departure ever recorded before by the project (that of Tache (PS6) on 22 August 2017). We are happy to learn that he was seen fishing on August 27, in the company of three other Osprey, by Jean-Louis Pujol at Etang de Vaccares in the Camargue – just 3 km away from the home of Luc Hoffmann (a great Osprey fan and supporter of its reintroduction) at the Tour du Valat.

Olympe (F28), who started his migration around 9:30 am on August 24, was photographed by Philippe Thouvenot at the Marais d’Usanges in the Department of Lozère at 7 pm on August 25, covering a distance of 400 km in less than one and a half days. Many thanks to Paul Lesclaux (manager of the Osprey reintroduction underway at the Marais d’Orx in southwestern France), for having drawn out attention to this valuable observation.

Both birds were translocated from eastern Germany on 30 June and released in Switzerland on July 25, fitted with a tiny radio transmitter of which the antenna is visible on the photos. Our best wishes to both birds for a safe continuation of their first trip toward tropical Africa!