September 04, 2007
Osprey Migration
First, a couple website notes: Our ISP has notified us that around 5am on September 6, our website will be down while they do some server maintenance. If you tune in then to look for eagles on the platform, the website might not be available, so come back later in the morning.
Also, we've just added a Blackwater Virtual Tour to our website, so if you've never been to the Refuge, be sure to check out the tour and see the local hotspots.
Osprey Platform
On Monday and Tuesday, we started seeing an adult bald eagle that was spending a good deal of time on the Osprey Cam platform; on Tuesday, the adult was joined by an immature eagle that the adult did not chase off. In the past, seeing eagles on the cam nest for long periods has always meant that our final Osprey Cam resident has left the area and is no longer defending the cam nest. And once the ospreys have left, the bald eagles then make use of the empty nest by turning it into a riverside perch; this behavior usually lasts until the ospreys return in March.
From what we've been hearing, it sounds like many ospreys in the area are leaving for migration. Our cam technician told me that the ospreys in his cove, which is not far from the Refuge, are gone. And we also heard from refuge photographer Bob Quinn who said that when he was at the Refuge recently he saw only one osprey along the Wildlife Drive. So I think it's safe to say that our local fish hawks are on the move. We might see stray ospreys on the platform in the coming days, buy if we do, it will likely be migrating birds that are stopping off at Blackwater Refuge to fish as they make their way down the coast.
Osprey Migration
Ospreys from the mid-Atlantic states will normally winter in South America, although some might stop in Central America or even Cuba. A few days ago, I posted a link to Rob Bierregaard's osprey tracking website so cam watchers could see where Rob's ospreys were going. I just noticed my link to his site has stopped working, so I'll post another one here. If you visit Rob's tracking pages, you'll be able to follow the young ospreys he just banded and tagged with satellite transmitters; note that these are birds from Massachusetts and Delaware, so they'll be going in the same general direction as our Maryland birds.
Ultimately we would expect our birds to settle somewhere in northern South America, since that is where many of Rob's birds have settled. Once the birds pick a spot, they'll likely roam over that general area throughout the winter, looking for food, socializing with other ospreys, and trying to stay out of trouble. Adult ospreys are normally as loyal to their winter homes as they are to their summer homes, so adults will likely stop in the same region where they wintered last year. But since immature ospreys will be going down for the first time, they will have to decide for themselves what area looks most attractive for their new winter home. It's important to note that osprey families do not normally travel together during migration (juveniles might start out together but then separate) and they will remain apart until they return to their breeding grounds. Adults will return the following year, but immature ospreys will stay down south an extra year until they reach the breeding age.
If you'd like to know more about osprey migration, and see satellite images of where our birds are heading, be sure to read the web log entry I wrote last year when our four fledglings were starting migration. In that entry I also discuss what types of dangers await our ospreys in their wintering grounds.
For those osprey fans who were following the wonderful Finland Osprey Cam -- and who also wonder where the Finnish fledgling will go -- be sure to check out the Finnish Museum of Natural History website since they were involved in a large osprey tracking program a few years back, and they have some interesting information posted about where Finnish ospreys go during migration:
2002 Finnish birds
2003 Finnish birds
It's worth noting that one of their male birds -- named Harri -- migrated over two continents to the southernmost tip of Africa and, according to their website, made the world record for osprey migration with a distance of almost 7,800 miles.
We wish all the ospreys we've followed a safe migration season as they make their way to distant lands. Unfortunately the areas where these birds winter are often not as friendly as the places where they breed, so we offer them our best wishes, and we hope they will return safely next year for another breeding season up north.
Eagle News
As I mentioned previously, on Monday and Tuesday we finally started seeing eagles on the Osprey Cam platform, and it was a great sight as we've missed our noble raptors since the Eagle Cam has been down for the season. It was especially interesting to see both an adult and an immature bald eagle on the platform together on Tuesday morning.
Several cam watchers have asked about judging the age of an immature bald eagle. Unlike ospreys, bald eagles actually take as long as five years to develop their adult plumage -- with the striking white head and white tail that is the hallmark of a bald eagle. As the feathers on the young bird develop, the immature eagle might sport an odd and varying mix of brown and white all over its body, and at certain times it might actually look somewhat like an osprey -- especially when it develops an eye stripe at around 3 to 3 1/2 years of age.
Here is a graphic that will help you judge the age of any immature bald eagle that visits the platform. This chart is from the article "Molting Sequence and Aging of Bald Eagles" from the 1989 edition of the ornithological magazine "The Wilson Bulletin." It's important to remember that not all young eagles will follow this chart exactly; some birds will develop a little slower or faster than other birds. But still, this graphic is very helpful in giving us the general age of any young bird that we might see on the cam nest.
One final bit of eagle news that is unfortunately sad -- we just heard that one of the California Santa Cruz Island bald eaglets was found dead in Nevada. Apparently it was feeding on roadkill and was hit by a car. Biologists report that as much as 50% of young eagles do not survive their first year, so this loss is not unexpected, but it's still sad for all the cam watchers who watched the young bird grow on the Santa Cruz web cam.
To find out more about the eaglet's death, you can visit the Nature Conservancy website to read a short interview with Dr. Peter Sharpe, who is a wildlife biologist with the Institute for Wildlife Studies and who has directed the Institute’s bald eagle restoration project on California’s Channel Islands.
Buy Duck Stamps
I wanted to mention that the new Federal Duck Stamp -- or Migratory Bird Stamp -- is now on sale. In case you've never heard of Duck Stamps, they are the main way in which the National Wildlife Refuge System gets funding to protect wildlife habitat in America.
Over the years, Duck Stamps have raised over $700 million and helped protect over 5.2 million acres in the Refuge System. In fact, nearly 98 cents out of every dollar collected from the sale of Duck Stamps (and Duck Stamp merchandise) goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System -- the only federal lands where wildlife comes first.
Almost 20,000 acres at Blackwater Refuge was purchased using money from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, so you can see how important Duck Stamps have been to our mission here at the Refuge.
A Federal Duck Stamp costs $15, and anyone who possesses a current stamp gets free access to any U.S. National Wildlife Refuge that is open to the public (this includes Blackwater Refuge).
Normally Duck Stamps are purchased by hunters who must have them in order to hunt migratory waterfowl, but since the number of hunters in America is declining, we need other types of supporters to step up and purchase Duck Stamps as well -- this would include conservationists, birders, stamp collectors, photographers, and anyone who cares about protecting wildlife habitat.
Each year a contest is held to choose the artwork for the next Duck Stamp, so you can buy a new stamp every year, and each stamp will feature a beautiful new bird design. Also, there is a Junior Duck Stamp contest held each year as well, and the funds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamps goes toward supporting environmental education programs and conservation art.
So please take a minute to visit our Duck Stamp page and follow the links to purchase your own Federal Duck Stamp.
And if you'd rather not buy the Duck Stamp online, check with your local post office or local sporting goods store to see if they sell Federal Duck Stamps. And thanks for your support!
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
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