3 minutes

Glen heads south

After watching his brothers depart a couple of weeks previously, Glen started his migration on the afternoon of 9 September. Here's a timeline of his journey thus far:

  • 9 September - Starts flying south and spends the night near a military base in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.
  • 10 September - Continues towards Devon flying at 49kph and altitude 621m. Spends the night in Cornwall near The Lizard Heritage Coast.
  • 11 September - Spent in and around southern Cornwall.
  • 12 September - Heads out over the English Channel from near Penzance. Enters the Bay of Biscay.
  • 13 September - Strange readings from Glen's tracker show he landed and took a ride south-west on board a ship, later discovered to be the Agia Triada travelling from Russia to Tanzania, before hopping over to a smaller ship sailing north, Eco Nical travelling from Morocco to UK, which he stayed aboard for around 75 miles. Eventually he resumed his flight south, reaching some offshore islands and eventually mainland Spain around 10pm.
  • 14 September - Glen stayed around the same area called the Rio Mera Ortigueira.
  • 15 September - Headed a little further south towards the Ribeira de Chantada.
  • 16 September - Glen travelled a little further west and settled in the Rio Anllóns. 
  • 17 - 20 September - Glen has stayed settled in the Rio Anllóns for several days now and appears to enjoying good fishing spots and finding places to roost. His brother Tweed is still in Portugal, now only about 175 miles south.
Map of route to Spain
Glen's full migration route to Spain
Route tracking on map
Glen's flight on September 13 before departing out to sea
Route map of Cornwall
Leaving Cornwall
Route over Bay of Biscay
Glen's route over the Bay of Biscay, with strange zig-zag
Zig zag on blue background
A close up of Glen's curious wanderings in the Bay of Biscay, taking a breather on two different ships
Map of small islands
Arriving in north-west Spain on some small islands just offshore

Glen's antics on the two ships have certainly provided some interesting readings and research. Thanks to Conservation Without Borders and Vessel Finder for the information.

An update on Kirk and Tweed: After some erratic readings from Kirk in Ireland, there has been no news. The tracker still has lots of battery life, but at this point, we believe Kirk has likely died. Tweed however is having a very good time in Portugal. His days appear leisurely with small fishing trips, followed by lengthy roosting In Aveiro Lagoon area of northern Portugal.

Video highlights

Keep an eye on our 2022 highlights YouTube playlist where we're uploading our favourite clips from the nest.