At the beginning of November, a new project was launched to display the tracked movements of various species of raptors, day and night, on the world wide web.
Vega, pictured just before she was satellite tagged
The initiative has seen satellite tags being put on two perefrine falcons named Freya and Vega, a hobby called Aeshna and a merlin named Corrie. Two hen harriers and more young golden eagles have also been tagged in 2010, to follow up the earlier satellite tagging of golden eagles and ospreys in the National Park.
At the beginning of December it was noticed that Vega, one of the peregrine falcons, had changed her night roost to the Carrbridge area, as documented on a map on the website.
Raptor Track (www.raptortrack.org) aims to raise awareness of the movements of raptors within the National Park, as well as their travels into other parts of Scotland and further afield. It also gathers information on the lives and movements of these individual birds, which will help with future protection and conservation efforts, including deterring wildlife crime.
Roy Dennis explained: “Tracking by state-of-art satellite transmitters adds enormously to our knowledge of raptors gained from field study and ringing. We can follow them as individuals and understand much more about their daily lives and the problems they face. Using the web is an exciting way for people to learn about and enjoy the raptors of the Cairngorms National Park.
“There’s the excitement of ‘what next’ – Vega the peregrine made a day trip to the Cromarty Firth last week, while my computer tells me today that Tanar, the hen harrier, roosted last night in the Angus glens while Aeshna, the hobby, had flown from Senegal to Guinea in West Africa – one day she will hopefully return to Strathspey.”
Convener of the CNPA, David Green added: “There are 18 species of raptors within our moorlands and forests of the National Park, some which are resident here year-round and others using it as a breeding ground or to winter, so it makes the Park a very important place in global terms for these birds. It is important we have as much information as possible in order to ensure that as a planning authority, we are making the right decisions but also as the Park Authority – working with our partners – that we are doing our utmost to protect these key species so that future generations can enjoy them.”
Find out more about Raptor Track and watch as Vega moves around the area on the website – www.raptortrack.org
Thanks to Roy Brown for noticing that Vega had moved toward the village!
