New Hampshire Ospreys Reach South America

By Iain MacLeod

Four of five closely watched satellite-tagged New Hampshire Ospreys have crossed the Caribbean and reached South America. Researchers and educators from Squam Lakes Natural Science Center have been following the large, fish-eating birds since they were fitted with light-weight, GPS-enabled, solar powered transmitter backpacks earlier this year.

Two of the birds – brothers Artoo and Bergen -- are the sons of Art, the adult male Osprey that was followed in 2012 on his amazing 5,000 mile journey from his winter home in Brazil to his nest in Bridgewater. Art was recaptured in August by Science Center Executive Director Iain MacLeod and his research partner Dr. Rob Bierregaard, and relieved of his transmitter which he had carried for 14,000 miles. That transmitter was placed on his son Artoo.

Artoo left the Bridgewater nest on August 16 and headed to Pennsylvania where he explored various rivers for several weeks. Bergen left a couple days later and spent a couple weeks on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. “Amazingly Bergen and Artoo crossed paths just to the west of the Chesapeake on the afternoon of September 23,” said MacLeod. “Then they both headed out over the open ocean (known as the “Georgia bite”), at one point only half a mile apart, through the following night and both returned to shore on the Georgia coast on the 24th.” They then took different routes down to Florida, but roosted within four miles of each other on the night of September 30. Both crossed to Cuba then to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Bergen made a 500+mile over ocean crossing to the coast of Colombia on October 11 while Artoo lingered around the town of Higuey in the eastern Dominican Republic until October 20. He crossed to Venezuela – a 460+ mile crossing -- on the morning of October 21.

Bergen has settled into a remote Colombian river valley near the border with Venezuela, where he might spend the next 18 months before returning to New Hampshire in 2015. Juvenile Ospreys do not return north until they are two years old and ready to breed. “He may also just be staging there before moving to another location,” said MacLeod. “His brother Artoo now has to find himself a safe territory too where he can spend the next 18 months,” MacLeod added.

A third youngster, named Weber, left her nest in Hampton Harbor on September 6 and made an uninterrupted flight down to the Dominican Republic and crossed over the Venezuela on September 27. Sadly, she only lasted a little more than 24 hours in Venezuela before her signal stopped moving and researchers assume she died.

The fourth Osprey, an adult male named Donovan, was tagged at his nest in Tilton in late May. He is the father of Jill and Chip, two youngsters who were followed in 2012. Donovan left New Hampshire on September 17 and skirted just west of New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington on his way to Florida. He flew over the Bahamas on his way to Cuba, then over to Haiti, but then surprised MacLeod by continuing east over to Puerto Rico and then to the Virgin Islands. He ended up on St. Croix before making an attempt to cross the Caribbean on October 9, but changed his mind and returned to Puerto Rico. “Maybe he forgot something,” jokes MacLeod. After a week fishing around the town of Ponce on the south coast of Puerto Rico, Donovan flew back to St. Croix and completed a nonstop 660 mile trip across the Caribbean to Venezuela. Donovan then headed southwest and quickly reached the Rio Claro – a tributary of the mighty Orinoco River, where he has settled for the last couple days. “This may be his winter home,” said MacLeod. “Donovan is a mature bird who has made this migration several times. He knew where he was going -- Ospreys are vary faithful to both their winter and summer haunts and will return year after year to the same South American river,” added MacLeod.

The fifth tagged Osprey, an adult male named Mackenzie, died before leaving New Hampshire on the shore of Head Pond in Berlin – likely the victim of a Great Horned Owl or Goshawk attack. MacLeod recovered his remains in early October.

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center launched the project in 2011 with financial and logistical support from Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH). In addition to PSNH support, MacLeod also gained project funding from the Jane B. Cook 1983 Charitable Trust and the Science Center’s own Innovative Project Fund. “PSNH has continued to be an annual supporter of this project and an outstanding steward of nesting Ospreys throughout the state,” said MacLeod. In addition to supporting this research project, PSNH has installed nesting poles, managed Osprey nests on their power lines and also runs a webcam on an Osprey nest at their hydro station at Ayers Island in New Hampton/Bristol.

You can follow the continuing journeys of Artoo, Bergen, and Donovan online. MacLeod authors a blog which provides regular updates and maps showing where each bird is and what lies in store. The blog is at http://www.nhnature.org/programs/project_ospreytrack/. MacLeod also authors an up-to-the-minute Twitter feed @OspreyNH.

Where in the world is Art the Osprey?

Art the Osprey is making his way back to New Hampshire from his winter home in Brazil and is making great progress. You can track his movements here.

Also, the great folks at Movebank.org have created an interactive map to track the migrations of the Ospreys. You can see and use the map at http://www.nhnature.org/programs/project_ospreytrack/osprey_maps.php.

Executive Director is invited guest at Israel seminar

Iain MacLeod attends worldwide seminar on ospreys 

Holderness, NH – The Executive Director of Squam Lakes Natural Science Center has just returned from a five day seminar in Israel. Iain MacLeod was an invited guest at the conference which was focused on Osprey migration and the use of satellite tracking technology as a tool for education. MacLeod joined other presenters from Scotland, England, Finland, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Basque (Spain), Germany, Holland, Palestine, Jordan and of course Israel.

Iain MacLeod speaks during conference.

MacLeod and his colleague Dr. Rob Bierregaard represented North America at the table. Bierregaard, who is a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina, has tagged more Ospreys with transmitters than anyone else in the world. More than 200 Ospreys have been tracked in North America.

The goal of the seminar was: To develop a coordinated international approach to integrate satellite tracking studies with education along Osprey migration flyways by:

• Initiating links between researchers using GPS satellite transmitters on Ospreys
• Identifying key education aims and objectives, relating specifically to bird/Osprey migration
• Using new digital technology (websites/Google Earth/Skype/social media/webcams etc.) to link schools and other education establishments along Osprey migration flyways in a new and exciting way 
• Discuss how the work can be extended to other species of birds, mammals and reptiles. 

MacLeod’s presentation focused on Osprey education programs that the Science Center has produced and his experiences with using Ospreys as a teaching tool.

Future plans include the creation of an international website where schools from North America, South America, Europe and Africa can share experience and learn about Ospreys where they breed and where they spend the winter. Ospreys which breed in New Hampshire migrate to South America and the Caribbean; Ospreys in Europe migrate to Africa. The use of lightweight GPS enabled satellite transmitters has revealed amazing new insights into bird migration and facilitated specific conservation efforts.

Conference attendees in Israel.

Here in New Hampshire, with funding from Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH), the Science Center has been able to fit four transmitters on Ospreys in 2011 and 2012 to follow their migrations. Many people followed along last fall via MacLeod’s blog and maps on the Science Center website as Chip and Jill, two sibling youngsters from a nest in Tilton, launched on their first migrations. Young Ospreys make their migration solo and have to learn where to go and how to get there. Tagging and studies using coded leg bands have revealed a very high mortality rate in first time migrants. Neither Chip nor Jill survived their migration. Jill made it all the way to Brazil before being killed by a larger predator. Chip was blown out to sea off the Virginia coast and ended up hopping from freighter to freighter (all east bound) taking him hundreds of miles off course. After a week at sea, Chip ditched in the ocean just four hundred miles from the Azores; closer to Portugal than South America. Thankfully an adult male named Art made a successful trip to east-central Brazil and has been hanging out along the Tocantins and Araguaia rivers. This experienced bird (he is at least seven years old) will have migrated this route north and south more than a dozen times, returning to the same winter home in Brazil and returning to his nest on the Pemigewasset River in Bridgewater. In about a month Art will begin his northbound migration again; aiming to be back in New Hampshire by April 1. Anyone can follow along by going to the Osprey migration pages at the Science Center website http://www.nhnature.org/programs/project_ospreytrack. The Science Center has funding from PSNH again this year to tag four more New Hampshire Ospreys and follow their migrations.

Schools that want to get involved in the new international Osprey project should contact MacLeod at iain.macleod@nhnature.org.