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Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve/ats, Fre) – If you feel like summer is ending you are not alone: Max, a stork born in Avenches, Vaud in 1999, has just headed south from his summer home in Lake Constance. He is the longest-living satellite-tracked bird in the world and his previous nine migratory trips have been followed closely by the public. In 2006, researchers put satellite tracking devices on 26 storks in Switzerland, of which only 12 are still alive with functioning GPS  transmitters.

He left Thursday and slept the night in Vaud before continuing over Lake Geneva and south down along the Rhone River, covering 500 km in one go thanks to strong winds. He flew past Nîmes and on to Narbonne, where he spent last night. He will likely continue his trip via Spain, crossing to North Africa at the Straits of Gibraltor.

• Max’s flight map
• Museum of Natural History, Fribourg: excellent site on migratory bird research in Switzerland