After “escaping” from the prison grounds of Bellechasse when departing on migration on September 11, and then narrowly escaping death after being shot in Algeria by a poacher on September 16, PP5 has once again demonstrated his amazing capacity for escape. On October 11 Toufik Brahimi, the veterinarian who saved his life, went to examine and weigh him in preparation for his release planned for a few days later. PP5, however, had other ideas. After biting Mr Brahimi’s hand with his strong beak, he took advantage of the moment to push the door of the aviary open and to escape, immediately flying high above the mountains of Djurdjura until he was out of sight. While we had imagined a more controlled release back into the wild, we are reassured by Mr Brahimi who says that the bird had completely recovered from his wounds, had eaten well just before his escape, and was very dynamic. So dynamic in fact that he was not willing to spend any longer in captivity.
We will only know if PP5 has survived his ordeal if he returns to Switzerland in a few years’ time. However, as his blue plastic ring marked PP5 was damaged and had to be removed, he will be more difficult to identify. Indeed, this plastic ring may have saved PP5’s leg from being injured, as it was presumably damaged in the shooting. If we ever see a male Osprey with just a metal ring on his left leg returning to our release site it could well be our escape artist.
We recently received some shocking news from Algeria concerning one of our young ospreys called PP5 (nicknamed “Chernobyl” due to the markings on the back of his head which resemble a radiation symbol). This male had been found shot by a poacher in the region of the Djurdjura National Park, about 100 km east of the capital city Algiers.
On September 19, our last two young Ospreys of the 2015 reintroduction season left for Africa. The project team were watching PP1 and PP4 (named after the code on their colour ring) when the female suddenly spiralled high into the sky before heading south. A few hours later PP4 did the same. The photo above shows the difference in size between PP1, the female (to the left), and PP4, the male, on top of their release aviary. Since September 19 we waited several days to be absolutely sure that they had really left. It is common that young ospreys first make a “false departure”, which might last up to 2 or 3 days, before returning to the reintroduction site for more food before they finally decide to set off. Now that we are sure that PP1 and PP4 have really left we wish them a safe journey, hoping that they will avoid the numerous risks that all Ospreys face from the moment they are born.
The photo above was taken shortly before PP5 (bird to the left) departed on migration on September 11. We built two nests in front of the aviaries so that the young Ospreys could get used to seeing them. We were delighted when they started to perch on the nests.
On August 8 and 11 we released our six Ospreys that had been cared for around the clock inside the specially built aviaries. Some, like PP6, took an hour to realise they were free before making their first flight, while others were content to sit inside the aviary for almost the entire day before taking the big step, or should we say jump. For example, we had begun to think that PP4 would never leave until at 18:30 he suddenly made a perfect take-off, spiralling high in the sky before making a fine landing on top of the aviary. It was as if he had been considering his first flight for the entire day and was determined to make a good job of it. The birds are now being fed twice a day, with fish being put out for them once before dawn, and then once in the afternoon. They are very susceptible to disturbance so the project team is watching them non-stop. It is very important that they are not frightened by anything and that they remain in the release area. Three dead trees were “planted” in front of the aviary and above is a unique photo when we had five young altogether, perched on two of the dead trees.
Each bird has a metal ring on the left leg and a plastic colour ring on the right leg. The rings do not hurt the birds nor do they worry them in any way. Rings are only allowed to be put on birds by licensed ringers, which for our project are Michel Beaud, Adrian Aebischer and Roy Dennis. The metal ring on the left leg is provided by the Swiss Ornithological Station (SOS) at Sempach and has a unique number. If someone finds a ringed bird they can inform the SOS who will then tell us that someone has seen the bird.
