In the clear warm conditions he gained height slowly and made it up to about 240 metres. It was around 5.30 pm, from 51 kilometres out, that Ozzie first picked out a land mass on the horizon. His speed picked up in anticipation. Within 63 minutes he had just about covered the distance. He approached a long, low offshore island. The island of Mogador, just off the Moroccan town of Essaouira, is home to 168 pairs of Eleanora's Falcons. Their young were just fledging, the falcons having timed their breeding season to coincide with the arrival of their food: small birds migrating to Africa for the winter. They hang in the air over the sea, waiting for migrants. Earlier in the day Ozzie's shipmate, the tired Wheatear, had been caught by one of the falcons as he came in low over the sea. Now as dusk approached there was little activity. Ozzie's approach changed all that.
The Eleanora's Falcons came out like an angry swarm of bees, driving Ozzie away from the breeding colony. The small detour sent Ozzie south past the island and he hit the continent of Africa at a small wadi two kilometres south of the small town of Essaouira. As darkness fell Ozzie roosted in some small acacias overlooking the pool, glad to be back on dry land at last.
There are only around 4500 pairs of Eleanora's Falcons in the world. They breed in remote colonies on islands around the Mediterranean Sea. The only other colonies in the world are those off the coast of Morocco. As soon as their young fledge they migrate across Africa to spend the winter on the island of Madagascar.