July 15, 2007

Time to update everyone again on what has transpired these past few weeks.

Today, OWSEM was at the Ann Arbor Huron River Day event. This is our second year. Our representatives included members Kathy Kortge and Val Valoppi. OWSEM provided displays and a "make and take an osprey hand puppet" craft activity for the kids. The weather cooperated and the turnout was good.

Recently, the chicks in the Highland and Milford, MI cell tower nests were banded. That activity took place on July 12th. It was an exciting day to say the least. We had expected the Highland nest to yield at least one chick, as recent observations indicated chicks(s) to be present. It was delightful to find three, five week old chicks in this nest. These chicks are very special, as they are the grand chicks of C09 and his mate of the Kensington Wildwing Lake nest fame. One of his offspring, C42 fledged from that nest in 2003, returned to Michigan in 2006 and began building this cell tower nest, and returned again this season to produce these offspring with his mate. These chicks are the first confirmed, third generation chicks that the Osprey Reintroduction Program of Southern Michigan has produced. For Southern Michigan ospreys to achieve a sustainable population, more of these nests have to occur. But, this is a huge milestone reaching this first one. These chicks were retrieved from the nest and brought to the ground, given physicals, and returned without incident. They are all very healthy and should fledge in about three weeks. After banding the Highland chicks, the banding ensemble moved to the cell tower nest North of Milford. Recent observations indicated that this nest might have failed, as no feeding activity could be been seen nor small heads moving around in the nest. Surprising, when the first climber reached the top of the tower, he radioed to his team member to ready the shuttle rope; there were two chicks in the nest! So much for ground observations. Sometimes, it leads to an incorrect assessment. The two Milford chicks were slightly smaller than the Highland chicks, but in very good health. They were also given physicals, banded, and placed back into the nest without incident.

In the latter part of the prior week, chicks (two of them) at the Ranger Rd. cell tower nest were banded as were the chicks (three of them) on one of the nest platforms (off of Elms Rd.) at Sterling State Park.

With the addition of these ten chicks to the count, we can report that a total of twenty chicks have been banded at 10 nests in Southeast Michigan. Two nests are know to have failed to produce any chicks. They include the other nest at Sterling State Park and the nest in Rockford, MI. It appears the nest on the cell tower at Rockford was mostly destroyed by one of the recent strong wind storms. The number of chicks in the nest at Pte. Mouillee is still unknown, as the water had been drawn down and the DNR banding crew could not get to that nest. If you visit Pte. Mouillee, please take your spotting scope along and send us a report of the number of chicks you observe in that nest. Also, the number of chicks in the nest on Skuse Rd. near Hillsdale is still unknown. Again, if you live down that way and can provide spotting scope observations of the number of chicks in that nest, we would very much like to have that information. Both of these nest should have their chicks fledge within the next three to four weeks. Better yet, if you can photograph either of these nests and supply that, we will use it in an upcoming photo album, with your permission of course.

The latest sighting map shows the nests which are know to have failed. Even with these failures, this is turning into an outstanding year for chick production in Southeast Michigan.

The Stony Creek Hacking activity is off and running. Stony got three chicks on July 5th, and a forth chick on July 11th. These chicks were about five weeks old when they were brought to the Detroit Zoo for their physicals and should fledge in about four to five more weeks. It usually takes a week or two longer for captive ospreys to fledge, as they don't have as much stimulation to flap and learn to use their wings as natural nest ospreys. Progress on these ospreys has been posted in the Stony Creek part of the OWSEM web site.

Planning and preparations continue for Osprey Fest 2007, to be held at the Kensington Nature Center on July 21st and 22nd from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. Click on the link in the "Announcements" on the home page for more details. The long range outlook is for outstanding weather, so bring the whole family out and help us celebrate Southeast Michigan's wonderful, growing osprey population.

That's the latest. As always, we welcome your observations and reports of ospreys in Southeast Michigan. Send them to osprey@owsem.org or call in reports to 810-629-0378.

June 27, 2007

The Stony Creek hacking project is gearing up for their 5th year of operation. They need volunteers, so if you are interested and can help, contact the Nature Center there at 586-781-9113.

Banding activity has been occurring over the past several days. The most recent outing took the banding team to the cell tower south of Lee Rd. (often referred as the Acme Building Material tower) on old US 23 and to the Lake Nepessing Rd. tower near Lapeer.

At the Lee Rd. site, 3 chicks were found, the same number as last year. They were all in very good health and approximately 3 1/2 weeks old. Banding the chicks was accomplished without incident and the whole event took about 45 minutes from the time the climbers started up the tower until mother osprey was back on her antenna perch watching over her chicks again. For those who don't remember, this is C22 and mates nest. C22 was part of the Kensington hacking program and was released in 2000. This is the pairs 5^th year nesting at this site.

At the Lake Nepessing nest, we also discovered 3 chicks, the same number as last year. These chicks were a bit older than those at Lee Rd., approximately 4 weeks in age on average. All of the chicks were very healthy and were banded without incident. This tower is a bit more difficult to climb, so the banding took slightly longer, about 1 hour from start to finish. The Lake Nepessing nest is that of C37 and mate and their 4^th year at this location. C37 was also part of the Kensington hacking program and he was released in 2001.

Prior to banding the cell tower chicks, the chicks in the nests at Kensington Metropark were banded on June 20th. We started with the nest at Windfall Hill Bay. This nest is occupied by the pair of ospreys who previously had been nesting on the Huron River nest platform near Dawson Rd. for the previous three years. In each of those years, they had 3 chicks grow to maturity and fledge. It was wonderful to again see 3 healthy chicks in the nest. The chicks were carefully removed from the nest by DNR and Detroit Zoo staff, given a health check, blood drawn for DNA tests, banded, and placed back into the nest. As a point of interest, the colored class bands used this season are purple in color, with a pair of them being applied to each chick on the right leg. A few years from now, we may get to see one of these chicks again if it returns to nest.

Moving over to the nest at Wildwing Lake, we were all stunned to find only 1 chick remained of the 3 we had seen earlier this season when nest checks were performed. One of the chicks who perished was still in the nest and its body was removed so that Detroit Zoo staff could perform a necropsy in hopes of determining the cause of death. Results of the necropsy are unknown at this time. The remaining, surviving chick was quite large and looked very healthy. Hopefully, it will not succumb to the malady that caused the other two chicks to perish. C09 and mate have lost other chicks in previous years, unfortunately.

No chicks have been spotted in the Milford cell tower nest, but we keep looking. Our last outing to this nest was on June 19th. During that visit, the female was acting like chicks were present, so that is encouraging. The origins of the male from this nest continue to be a mystery. He has a black hacking band on his right leg with a "P" prefix. Our contacts at the Ohio DNR report that the bands they used with a "P" prefix were blue in color.

During the last visit to the Highland cell tower nest , at least one small head could be observed. What is important and exciting about that is that C09 and mate and grandparents. The male of the Highland nest is C42, one of three chicks born to C09 and mate in 2002. We're sure hoping one or more of these 3rd generation chicks fledges, as that would be the first documented 2nd generation osprey to return to the area and successfully nest. 

Allen Chartier continues to report on the osprey nests at Sterling State Park. There are two active nests there and each of them appears to have some number of chicks present. Both nests are so far away that seeing details, like chicks, is nearly impossible. As the chicks get older, it will be easier to see and count them. Plans to band the chicks in these nests are still being formulated.

A couple of reports about Pte. Mouillee indicate this nest is also still active. There should be chicks by this time, but this nest is also so far from good viewing that no one has seen any.

On June 15th, another trip was made to the Skuse Rd. nest near Hillsdale with the hopes of seeing chicks and getting the band numbers off of the male there. As reported earlier, this nest is huge. It has a very deep bowl and we were unable to see any chicks, although, the female was sitting up higher than before, so there were probably chicks under her. The male brought in a very small fish (more like a large minnow) and the female appeared to eat all of it herself. It could well be that the chicks had been fed earlier, before we arrived, and were not hungry. Some success was achieved in identifying the male. He is either C33 or C35 from the Kensington hacking program and was released in 2001. The last digit on the band was very hard to see and deciding whether it is a "3" or "5" will have to wait for another outing or someone else being able to make that determination. Both times we have been to this nest, the sun has been too high in the sky to light the green hacking band well enough to read the numbering accurately.

That's the latest. As always, we welcome your observations and reports of ospreys in Southeast Michigan. Send them to osprey@owsem.org or call in reports to 810-629-0378.

May 31, 2007

It is very gratifying to report that Southeast Michigan now has 12 active osprey nests. The latest nest to be confirmed is on a cell tower north of Maple River, east on Ranger Rd. The Michigan DNR folks have been following this nest site for several years. It has been active off and on during that time, but didn't produce any chicks last year. When you visit the latest photo album, you see how large this nest is physically; it is huge compared to the other nests that have been discovered and on a cell tower that exceeds 250 feet in height. We didn't see the male, but Lori Sargent of the Michigan DNR saw him a few days before our visit.

Two additional sites hold great promise for next year. As previously reported, some nesting activity has been observed at Stony Creek, but the pair there have abandoned that location for the moment. It probably is a young pair attempting their first nesting. If they follow typical patterns, the male will continue to add material to his already started nest off and on during this summer with the expectation of returning next spring and finishing the job. We've seen this happen several times before. A like situation is happening north of Port Huron, on a cell tower located behind a Meijer store. A pair of ospreys has been seen often during the past month bringing sticks to the tower. In talking with Ernie Kafcas of the Michigan DNR recently, we've concluded that these ospreys are also a new pair and attempting to nest for the first time. Hopefully, the male will continue with his nest building and be back next spring to complete the job. The most recent sighting map shows these two nest locations with red flags.

Both of the nests at Kensington Metropark have 3 baby ospreys in them. We knew that the Wildwing Lake nest had 3 chicks when we did a nest survey at the park on May 24th. At that time, the Windfall Hill Bay nest had a single chick and two eggs in it. That nest was revisited on May 31st to determine if the eggs had hatched. The Windfall Hill Bay nest is featured in the latest photo album including a picture of the newly hatched chicks during a feeding.

OWSEM member Val Valoppi continues to monitor the nest in Rockwood, MI. Val reports this pair to be continuing their incubating. She also visited the Pte. Mouillee nest but wasn't able to see much due to the nest being so far out into the lead unit area. We would still like to get some photos of that nest and of its occupants. So, if you have a great photo setup and want a challenge, visit that location and send us a photo or two.

Finally, the 2007 Sighting Map has been updated with all 12 nest locations along with the two nests currently under construction by presumedly young pairs.

That's the latest. As always, we welcome your observations and reports of ospreys in Southeast Michigan. Send them to osprey@owsem.org or call in reports to 810-629-0378.

April 23, 2007

A number of exciting events have occurred since the last update.

An interim update was posted in the "Announcements" section of the main page that the osprey who returned to the Highland, MI cell tower nest is C42. This is a true milestone for the Osprey Reintroduction Program. C42 is the first documented, second generation chick who has returned to the area. C42, along with his two brothers, are offspring of C09 and mate and fledged in 2003. If C42 and his mate have a successful nest this summer, the beginnings of a truly sustainable osprey population will have occurred. Barring some kind of calamity, ospreys will again be part of the natural landscape of southern Michigan.

Next, a new nest has been discovered between Brighton and Howell. This nest is located on a cell tower (where else) and a pair of ospreys were observed there on April 15th. The nest was able to be discovered from an observation that was sent to OWSEM about an osprey seen flying with a stick. With that key piece of information, finding the nest was actually quite easy. The male building the nest there has a silver USF&W band on his left leg and what appears to be a black hacking or class band on his right leg. This is the banding scheme used by the Ohio DNR during their hacking project, so this may be one of their birds. Of late, we have not seen either the male nor female. Hopefully, they have not abandoned this location and will resume nest building again.

A telephone call and follow up email were received from Ron Patterson who had been down at Lower Huron Metropark on April 17th. He observed and photographed an osprey there and send along some pictures for us to use (Thanks Ron). Ron's photos are in the 4/23/2007 photo album.

The Lake Nepessing nest osprey pair were reported to have returned about two weeks ago. On April 21st, Jim Kortge visited that location and was able to verify that the male is C37. The female with him is most likely his mate from previous years, but without identifying marks on her, it is impossible to tell for sure. While observing this pair, another osprey pair flew into the area. The female was perhaps 500 feet above the ground, with the hovering and loudly calling male at least 1000 feet above her. He was directly overhead and impossible to photograph. She was a bit easier and a decent photo of this intruding female was obtained. After circling C37's nest for perhaps 15 minutes, they drifted southward toward Lake Nepessing. Maybe there is another nest down that way!

Barb Jensen also had success on April 21st verifying that it is indeed C09 and banded mate occupying the Wildwing Lake nest at Kensington Metropark. Barb was about ready to pack up and leave after observing for over 2-hours, when both birds finally showed her the bands she desperately wanted to see. The stiff neck and sore back were worth the effort, she reports!

That's the latest news. If you observe an osprey, please take the time to send us a report with as much detailed information as you can provide. GPS coordinates and photographs are very helpful too if you can obtain them. Please send your reports to: osprey@owsem.org

April 14, 2007

The 2007 osprey season started off abruptly on March 25th with a report of an osprey sighted on the nest at Wildwing Lake in Kensington Metropark. Just to refresh your memory, that was during the nice warm weather we were having at the end of March. What was somewhat surprising is the first ospreys were back 7-10 days earlier than they had been seen in previous years. Other reports soon followed of an osprey sighted on the cell tower South of Lee Rd. on US-23, and more reports of other osprey in Kensington Metropark.

Then the weather turned back into Winter and the ospreys seemed to be quite scarce for several days. It was if they were finding sheltered spots to get out of the cold wind and snow. When more moderate temperatures returned, so did the birds.

So far, we have received reports of six active nests in Southern Michigan. There is an active nest in Hillsdale, MI, the cell tower nest South of Lee Rd. (C22 and mate probably) near Brighton, MI, the Wildwing Lake nest at Kensington (C09 and mate probably), Windfall Hill nest at Kensington (Dawson pair confirmed), the Highland, MI cell tower nest (C42 and mate probably), and finally, the nest in Gibraltar, MI that was discovered last year. Those nests have been plotted on the sighting map.

To date, we have not had any confirming reports of ospreys returning to the cell tower nest at Lake Nepessing Rd. near Lapeer, nor the nest at Sterling State Park near Monroe, MI. Also, the nesting activity at Maple River has not been reported. It's still very early, so much can happen between now and the end of the month.