A lot has happened since the last update. We'll try to cover all of the highlights for the past six weeks, starting with the present and working backwards.

This past weekend was Hawkfest at Lake Erie Metropark and hosted by Southeastern Michigan Raptor Research (www.smrr.net). This location is one of many raptor migration routes affording great views of varied raptors migrating southward. The weather was too nice, so there were fewer migrants than normal. Good size crowds were present each day. OWSEM provided a presentation on Saturday afternoon detailing the successful nesting that occurred this season, along with background information on Kensingtons completed Osprey Hacking program. We were there with our booth for both days and met many, many nice people interested in ospreys, our organization, and our activities. Aaron Yilmaz from Stony Creek provided a powerpoint presentations each day on their summers Osprey Hacking program. The Stony program has essentially completed its work for this season, although one of their chicks is still around, occasionally taking fish from the nesting platform.

While at Hawkfest, we were advised of a new osprey nest located on an island in the Raisin River near Monroe, MI. This new nest has not been verified, but has been added to the sighting map, along with a number of additional sightings that have been reported in the past two months. We've asked the person reporting this new nest to please provide photos of it and its location, along with GPS coordinates, so that it can be located and verified next nesting season. We also were told by a different person that there is an unreported nest in the Huron River near Ann Arbor. We have asked for more details on this nest and its location. Hopefully, those can be provided.

A good deal of time was spent in the field by OWSEM volunteers during the last two weeks of August attempting to identify the male osprey who built a nest in a cell tower near the intersection of M59 and Duck Lake Road in Highland, MI. We can report that this osprey has a green, old style hacking band on his left leg, and a silver USF&W band on his right leg. He also was courting a female osprey; she was seen often, either in the nest or eating a fish he had brought her while perched on one of the cell antennae. We could verify the green band to have a "C" as the first character and a "2" as the last digit, but were unsuccessful in reading the middle digit. It is probably C42, a chick that was born to C09 and mate in 2003 and fledged from the Wildwing Lake nest that year along with his two male nest mates. Another possibility is this osprey is C52, a male released in 2003 from the Barry County hacking activity. It is more likely to be C42 thought, given the locations proximity to Kensington. We'll have to wait until next year to make a positive ID, assuming this pair survives migration and returns to nest next spring.

In what was a very unexpected surprise, OWSEM got an inquiry from Defiance, OH regarding the presence of a banded osprey in the back yard of Steve Yaros on August 20th. Steve wondered if anyone knew anything about this bird who had landed on his satellite antenna. It turned out to be C73 from the Barry Hacking project South of Hastings, MI. This osprey chick had been released on August 11th and had made its way to Defiance, stopping at the Yaros residence for a rest, we assume. The chick was very well fed as evidenced by its bulging crop. Its not often that one of the chicks released from a hacking project is seen stateside during its first migration. Photos of this chick are included in the September 19th photo album.

Osprey Fest 2006 is now history. It was a wonderful event with many activities for both kids and adults. The three osprey chicks (the girls) in the Wildwing Lake nest were about a week away from fledging and put on nice displays of flapping and lifting off of the nest. The weather was great, bringing out a crowd of about 200 attendees on Saturday, and over twice that number on Sunday. Saturdays raptor program was put on by the Leslie Science Center, and Sundays program by the Howell Nature Center. Both were very well attended.

An updated Sighting Map is now available. We added to it a number of different "keys" that we thought OWSEM site visitors would be interested in seeing. Along with the Red active nest Xs and Blue sighting pins, we have added three more map identifiers. The first is Red Flags to denote where the known "failed nests" are located. These nest were near Maple River, Gibraltar, and Hillsdale. In addition, a Red Triangle has been added to show the location of the newly reported nest in the Raisin River near Monroe. A Red Triangle with Green Square has been added to map to show the location of the new nest in Highland. If we get more information of the Ann Arbor nest, we will add that detail at the next update..

The photo album has been updated with a variety of images from Hawkfest, Osprey Fest, and the newly discovered nest in Highland, MI. We hope you enjoy them.

We are happy to report that two of the three chicks at the Wildwing Lake nest successfully fledged today. The remaining chick should fledge within the next few days. If you have never seen this event, it is very special. Well worth the trip to Kensington Metropark and a few hours observing the nest. You may see an "event of a lifetime".

As best as we know, all three chicks in the Acme cell tower nest have also successfully fledged. Many ospreys spotted sitting on the antennae we're told.

The chicks at the Lake Nepessing road nest fledged during the past week. On our last visit there, the nest was empty and C37 and mate were also gone. Our guess is that they are hanging out closer to Lake Nepessing so that the chicks can learn to fish.

Osprey Fest 2006 has come and gone. Thanks to everyone who attended our event. The weather for the weekend was spectacular! We had a moderate crowd on Saturday and very large crowd on Sunday. While the final numbers are still being tallied, the consensus of our members and volunteers is that the event was a huge success! A number of attendees voiced their appreciation to OWSEM for holding the evert, for having the opportunity to view the Kensington ospreys, to speak with knowledgeable persons about the success of the osprey reintroduction program, and being able to participate in a variety of interesting and educational activities. The live raptor show on both days was very popular as was the "Osprey Discovery Trail". Both garnered rave reviews! Our sincere thanks to those businesses and persons who financially and materially supported OWSEM and made it possible for us put on Osprey Fest 2006 and to the Kensington Metropark Nature Center for hosting it.

While visiting the Dawson Rd. nest after Osprey Fest closed on Saturday, July 22nd, we discovered that all three chicks had successfully fledged. That must have happened sometime earlier in the week. If you would like to see the Wildwing Lake chicks fledge, start watching their nest. They are flapping and hopping about and should fledge within the next 7 days.

OWSEM member Rob Poniatowski has provided the first sighting of an osprey at Pointe Mouillee along with a wonderfully detailed photo showing its leg bands. Robs picture is in the latest photo album.

We forgot to mention that the ospreys reported to be nesting at Maple River was in error. No nest has been located in that area this season. A pair had been nesting on a cell tower over that way in previous years, but did not return this season.

We have more good news to report!

A somewhat recent trip (June 23rd) to the Lake Nepessing Rd. osprey nest near Lapeer revealed it has 2 healthy chicks in it. We watched for a couple of hours and are convinced that C37 is bringing large quantities of fish to the nest for the chicks and his mate. While we were observing, another pair of osprey flew into the area, hung around for about a half-hour, tried to land on the nest, and finally were driven off by C37 and his mate. It's exciting to know that another pair of ospreys are hanging out in the Lapeer area. If they are not nesting this summer, perhaps they will in the next year or two. If you live up that way, be on the lookout for these birds. They may be attempting to nest near you. Details of our visit to the Lake Nepessing nest is in a new June 23rd photo album entry.

Another item that we would like you to know about is the successful banding of the chicks in the Wildwing Lake and Dawson Rd. nests at Kensington Metropark. This activity took place on June 29th with persons from the Michigan DNR and Detroit Zoo staffs. Dr. Ann Duncan, Chief Veterinarian, Detroit Zoo reports that all six chicks look really good with no apparent problems. A July 29th photo album entry documents this sucessfull banding activity.

The Dawson Rd. nest chicks should fledge sometime during the third week of July, and those in the Wildwing Lake nest sometime during the following week. The Wildwing Lake chicks should be practicing their flapping and nest flight skills during Osprey Fest, July 22nd and 23rd. That's another great reason to attend this event! Click here for details......

Within the next few weeks the Stony Creek Hacking activity will get underway. This year, the OWSEM web site will be the host for their program. We'll have dedicated pages so you can keep abreast of the chicks' progress as they move toward fledging and learning to fish on their own. Stay tuned......

Finally, we would sincerely like to thank all of you who have renewed your OWSEM membership or decided to become OWSEM members in 2006, to support us financially, and to assist us by volunteering your time and talents to help restore ospreys to Southeast Michigan. Your donations of money, time and talent are very much appreciated!

We have good news and bad news to report.

The good news is that both the Dawson Rd. and Wildwing Lake nests have triplets; that's right, three healthy chicks in each nest. We are hoping to get to the other active nests within the next week or so to see how those are doing.

Our 2006 Photo section has been updated with pictures of the "triplet" nests.

The bad news is that the earlier reported nest near Lake Erie Metropark has been abandoned for unknown reasons. This happened last year also. Maybe it is an immature pair that just haven't figured it all out.

Also, the earlier reportetd nest Southeast of Hillsdale has also been abandoned. That nest was visited by OWSEM members just two days after birds had been seen in and on the nest. We were there on June 2nd; no ospreys were seen. We met one of the locals who had been watching the nest and she reported seeing activity there just days before our arrival. A followup report from her a week later was that she had not seen any more activity at the nest. This nest was also abandoned last summer, we are told.

The sighting map has been updated to show the loss of these two nests.

Wow, our 2006 season has sure started off with lots of activity to report.

First off, we are happy to report that two new osprey nests have been reported in Southeast Michigan, bringing the total to six. Unfortunately, the Sterling State Park pair from the past few years have not returned yet and probably won't at this point. Be on the lookout for them. The female has a black hacking band on her right leg with "V87" engraved on it. On her left leg is a silver USF&W band with a red band below that. Her mate is banded also. He has yellow over blue bands on his right leg. On his left, a silver USF&W band with an orange band below that.

One of the new nests is in Wayne county, a stones throw from the Lake Erie Metropark. Neither of the ospreys were reported as banded. Their nest is about 30 high in an old dead snag. A classic nest site! The other new nest is in Hillsdale county, located on a power pole West of the Pittsford State Game area. No details yet on the ospreys there, but we hope to have more information toward the end of the month. Our plan is to have an OWSEM outing to visit both of these nests with some members going to the Wayne county nest, and others heading to Hillsdale county to view that nest. We'll keep you updated when the outing will happen.

If you've been snooping around the OWSEM site, you may have discovered the new spreadsheet containing information on all of the hacked ospreys since the beginning of the Osprey Reintroduction Program. This information comes to us from the Michigan DNR. Our thanks to them for letting us use it. You can find that document here and it will open a new window containing an Adobe PDF file suitable for printing. Enjoy!

The photo album has been updated with material from the DNR osprey nest platform installation activity over in the St. Claire flats area. A total of 3 new platforms were erected, two in the flats area itself, and another at Metro Beach Metropark. Maybe the osprey that Danny Klauss photographed will find a mate and take up residence on this new structure. Another set of photos are included on the same page documenting the return of C37 (we think). No one has verified the bands, but we're betting it is indeed C37 and his mate back for a third nesting season atop the Lake Nepessing Rd. cell tower.

Another photo album entry documents the bands on C09 and his mate. This pair is again nesting on Wildwing Lake at Kensington Metropark. It's their 5 season! The female is as aggressive to intruders as ever. While photographing, Jim Kortge saw the female drive a pair of flying Canada geese into and under the water. It seems she hasn't forgiven nor forgotten the goose last year who landed in her nest! She can be persuasive!!

We've also been informed of two more new active nests within the Southern part of the state. We're told there is a new nest on a cell tower over in Holland, MI, and new nest in Big Rapids, MI. In addition to these two new nest, we are happy to report that the nest in Lowell, MI on the old railroad trestle is active, as is the cell tower nest up in Maple River, MI.

Our Sighting Map has been updated with the new nest locations in Wayne and Hillsdale counties, as well as showing all of the reported sightings to date. One interesting feature (at least to us) is the cluster of sightings in the Ann Arbor area. We're guessing that an active nest is there waiting to be discovered. Who'll be the first to find it?

Finally, the Upcoming Events page has been updated with OWSEM's schedule for 2006 as we know it so far.

April 15th

The 2006 osprey season is off and running! We have already had many reports of ospreys in the area by several observers and a nest platform update. Here what's happened so far.

Thursday, March 30th, OWSEM member Joyce Schuelke reports seeing a male osprey on Wildwing Lake at or near C09's nest.

Friday, March 31st, Rich Miller takes two photos of an osprey flying from Wildwing Lake toward Kent Lake carrying a fish. One of Rick's photos is on the OWSEM home page. (Thanks Rick) This osprey looks like a male, and is probably C09 or C22 (from the Acme Tower Nest) who seems to like hanging out at Wildwing Lake until his mate arrives.

On the same day, Dale Cluckey of Brighton reports seeing a male osprey at the Acme Cell Tower nest. This is probably C22, returning for his 4th nesting season.

Sunday, April 2nd, OWSEM volunteer Jim Kortge observes an osprey sitting on C09's nest at Wildwing Lake. This is probably C09 who has returned for the 5th time. He also observes two ospreys flying over the lake later on in the morning. Traveling to the Dawson Rd. nest location, he observes a male osprey in and around this nest. This is probably the male from the previous two nesting seasons.

Monday, April 10th, OWSEM receives a telephone call from ZF Lemforder reporting an osprey on the cell tower adjacent to their facility off of Lake Neppessing Rd. near Lapeer. This is probably C37 and they report he first appeared on Friday of the previous week.

Wednesday, April 12th, OWSEM receives a report and photograph of an osprey perched in a dead snag at Metro Beach Metropark. Danny's photo can be seen on the OWSEM home page. (Thanks Danny)

Thursday, April 13th, OWSEM volunteers Jim and Kathy Kortge observe and photograph a pair of ospreys at the Acme Cell Tower nest. The male has bands on both legs with the left leg band being a hacking band. Only the "C" is visible, however, because of poor lighting.

Friday, April 14th, OWSEM receives a report from Ernie Kafcas of the Michigan DNR of their successful installation of two new nesting platforms in the St.Clair Flats area. Ernie went on the say that they are planning the installation of a nest platform at Metro Beach Metropark in the next two weeks.

Saturday, April 15th, OWSEM volunteer Barb Jensen reports seeing two ospreys on the nest South of Dawson Rd. Previously, only a male osprey had been seen on this nest. It would appear that both the male and female are back. This needs to be further confirmed with band confirmation on the female.

That's what we know so far. Keep tuned for more updates as information arrives.