About Rudi
Rudi has been caught as an adult at the colony of Zouweboezem. Rudi Terlouw works as the site manager at the Zuid Hollands Landschap. His efforts at Zouweboezem, now the largest Purple Heron colony in the Netherlands, has significantly contributed to the recovery of the Purple Heron population.
Rudi's 2009-2010 journey
14 September 2009 - Rudi took off in the evening. At 31 August, in the morning, Rudi was in northern Spain, taking more or less the same route as in 2008. In 2008 he stopped for some time in the Ebro Delta. This year however, he continued its flight. At 3 September he was in Morocco, most likely preparing for its flight over the Sahara. At 5 September Rudi arrived safely near a barrage at Mbout in south Mauritania. To date he is still present there. In the third week of October, Rudi made a short journey along the Senegal River to the same area, close to Dagama, where is spent the winter of 2008. Last year he arrived here in the second week of October and remained there until at least the end of December, when we lost contact with him for several months.Rudi remains close to Dagama into the last week of November.
Rudi's 2008-2009 journey
19 June to 29 August 2009- Rudi was in the breeding colony of Zouweboezem
12 May - 19 June 2009 - Rudi has remained around the breeding colony.
11 May 2009 - Rudi arrived back in his breeding area in the Netherlands. 7 May 2009 - We have recently lost contact with Rudi, his last known position being near Poitiers in France. 20 April 2009 - 23 April 2009 - Rudi headed up the western side of France and is resting at some small ponds near Poitiers. 5 April 2009 - The next signal from Rudi shows that he had crossed the Pyrenees and was near Villeneuve-sur-Lot in southern France. 31 March 2009 - Suddenly we received signals of Rudi! He was migrating over Morocco. 22 December 2008 - 30 March 2009 - We receive no further signals from Rudi. 9 October 2008 - 21 December 2008 - Signals were received from an agricultural landscape along the Senegal River near to Dagana in West Africa. 5 October 2008 - Rudi reached Morocco in North Africa before crossing the Sahara in two days. 3 September 2008 - 10 September 2008 - He headed along the Mediterranean coast of Spain and staged in and around the Ebro Delta in Spain; one of Europe's finest coastal wetlands with a lot of rice fields. 1 September 2008 - Rudi crossed the Pyrenees mountains 31 August 2008 - He was near Rochefort on the west coast of France. 30 August 2008 - He headed to the west coast and stopped at Angers in France. 29 August 2008 - Rudi is the first of the herons to start migration, already reaching northern France.