'Human swan' Sacha Dench completes expedition following osprey migration in West Africa

Devon-based conservationist Sacha Dench, who was badly hurt in a flying accident last year, has completed a remarkable expedition to West Africa, despite her injuries.

Sacha broke both her legs in a paramotor crash, which killed her team member Dan Burton.

She had been attempting to circumnavigate Britain, as part of a project raising awareness of the climate crisis, when she and her fellow researcher were involved in a mid-air accident over the western Highlands of Scotland.

After many months of recovery, Sacha and her team set off on a new expedition on 1 August 2022 to follow osprey on their migration from the UK to Guinea.

Sacha became well known as the 'human swan' after her project following the birds from Russia to Britain using a paramotor.

In 2019 she co-founder the charity Conservation Without Borders.

Whilst unable to fly during this latest journey, she was able to go to the key spots the birds visit along the way in more than a dozen countries.

The team followed four birds in particular, using GPS tagging.

Ospreys are just one of many birds that migrate from Britain to Africa for the winter. Credit: Conservation Without Borders

Once common, the osprey has been driven to extinction in most countries across Europe.

The team wanted to discover why so many disappear on the migration, with around 70% of young ospreys lost during their first journey.

Speaking to ITV News on her arrival back in the UK at Bristol Airport, Sacha said the achievement of completing the expedition couldn't have been done without the great support she received.

She said: "Surgeons at BRI and at Southmead have been amazingly supportive and my team have been there to help me when things were challenging.

"Getting in and out of canoes, having to wade through mud and things is not easy with a boot and another sore foot and crutches. But I've had 18 year old fisherman from a village run out to the canoe and pick me up and carry me so that I could get where I needed to go.

"People have been incredibly supportive all along the way."

Team member Poul Brix said: "She's done amazing. She thinks she's been on a very slow journey but for everybody else it looks like she's come on leaps and bounds. She's been doing really great."

Because of her injuries, Sacha relied on the support and help of her team and people in the countries she visited Credit: Conservation Without Borders

Sacha now plans to turn the expedition into a film, hoping to strengthen the connections the team made on the flyway and better understand the more than 30 different threats the team identified that the ospreys face on their migration.

She says many are being made worse by climate change, the impact of plastic pollution and industry.

Sacha said: "It has been a huge privilege to see the world from their point of view. It's incredible how following a journey with them really helps you to connect all the different countries between here to West Africa.

"We would never normally consider Guinea as being particularly connected to us but we've been given insights into not only the lives of the birds, but also the people that they rely on to help conserve habitats between here and West Africa."