Have You Been To the Orkney Islands Recently?
Someone from Ealing has picked up a missing bird tracker
One of the recently hatched chicks. Picture: Steph Trapp/BBC
An award is being offered for a missing bird tag which ornithologists believe has been picked up by a person from Ealing.
The device was being used to track the flight of an oystercatcher between Dublin and Orkney but fell off the bird on a beach on the island of Sanday.
The GPS tracker shows that it subsequently started moving again first going to a campsite and then a pizza restaurant before ending up in a residential part of Ealing having travelled between Edinburgh and Newcastle.
It is though likely that it was picked up by a holiday maker who was unaware of what it was but the valuable bit of kit is worth around £1,000 and vouchers of the person’s choice are being offered for its return. It is small brick shaped item with a solar panel.
PhD student Steph Trapp told the BBC, "The bird obviously hasn't gone all the way down there, so we think someone must have found the tag whilst on holiday in Sanday, and taken it down with them.
"It feels a little bit strange being able to track their whole holiday, but the tags are programmed to record a pretty accurate GPS location every couple of hours."
Once retrieved the device will be redeployed on another bird next season to aid research.
Steph Trapp with an Oystercatcher. Picture: Steph Trapp/BBC
If you have the item you are asked to contact the College of Life and Environment at the University of Exeter.
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June 15, 2022
