3 minutes

Heading south, mostly

On Friday 26 August, all three juveniles left the nest heading south, and it looked like they'd began their migration to Africa. We've never seen all chicks leave the nest at the same time, but they did in this case, all leaving on Thursday. By Friday morning:

  • Glen was around Kendal in Cumbria
  • Kirk was at Loch Esk, near Eskdalemuir
  • Tweed was at the Welsh borders, near Whitchurch

However, we've continued to monitor their progress over the weekend:

  • Glen has returned home! Despite reaching Barrow-in-Furness and heading west into the Irish Sea on Friday afternoon, Glen then turned north and roosted for the night near Lockerbie. On Saturday he then proceeded north again back towards the Yarrow valley and towards home. Maybe he wasn't quite ready, or decided to enjoy Scotland a little longer!
  • Despite a slow start, Kirk continued heading south. He and Tweed both flew a similar route over Wales before crossing the Severn into Devon and Cornwall. And despite Tweed's initial head start, by the time Kirk reached the south-west of England on Saturday afternoon, he and Tweed were within a few hours of each other. Kirk followed his brother out to sea but bizarrely turned north towards Ireland. Around 15 miles before reaching Ireland, he turned south again but will have used a considerable amount of energy ultimately going the wrong way. We're unsure but possibly weather conditions played a factor in this diversion, and we hope he'll have enough energy to make it to land.
  • At about 6pm on Saturday, Tweed left Cornwall near Penzance, striking out over the English Channel. We've since learned on Monday morning that he made it back to land in Portugal, a little north of Lisbon. We suspect he will find a place to take a rest before continuing south.
Showing Tweed's first day of migration flight in relation to Kirk
Tweed's initial flight south on Thursday 25th August, with Kirk's slow start also shown
Glens journey in relation to the other two
Glen's first leg to Barrow-in-Furness in south Cumbria
Line graphic on map
Kirk's route south through Wales
Line graphic on map
Glen's big loop out to the Irish Sea before heading back north to the Borders
Line graphic on map
Tweed and Kirk's flight to Cornwall, showing Tweed heading out to sea at 6pm on Saturday 27 August
Line graphic on map
Kirk's big diversion towards Ireland.
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Tweed's flight south into the Atlantic before reaching the Portuguese coast north of Lisbon.

Tuesday 30 August

As of the evening of Tuesday 30 August:

  • Glen is still around the nest site where his dad has been feeding him.
  • Kirk eventually made landfall in Ireland after more than 22 hours in flight. We believe bad weather forced him to turn north rather than follow his brother Tweed south towards Portugal. Since arriving in Ireland he has been touring, heading firstly north towards Limerick before heading west and south down the coast. It looks like he has found a roost along the River Cumneragh and we hope he's resting before thinking of going south again.
  • Once arriving in Portugal, Tweed turned a little north to the River Mondego and followed it eastwards. He's been recovering from this big first leg near a model aeroplane club!

The latest - Thursday 1 September

  • Glen is still around Peebles but making some longer trips.
  • Kirk is still touring in Ireland and appears to be fishing along the River Rinny.
  • Tweed is still in Portugal at the River Vouga and appears to be moving around there.

Video highlights

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