|
|
|
May 28th
After
a log delay due to other tasks that needed to be done, here is another
Breaking News update, starting with the most recent event and working
backwards.
Barb
Jensen spent a good part of May 28th checking out a report of an osprey
nest in a cell tower (where else) on 34 Mile Rd., East of Van Dyke. She
indeed found an osprey nest in that tower and it has been there a
while. She reported seeing the female looking into the nest from the
rim and the male coming to the nest. At one time, she reports, there
were 3 ospreys flying above the tower. We're hoping that the male from
this nest is a returning male from the Stony Creek Hacking effort. Some
of the volunteers from that program have been asked to help identity
the ospreys nesting there.
We received a photograph from Gil Lopez on May 23rd
of an osprey on the Lake Neppessing cell tower. As a refresher, this is
where C37 and mate have nested for the past five years. He could not
see the mate to this bird in the nest, but we are sure he (she) was
there, as other reports of an osprey in that nest have been received.
A
new nest appears to be under construction in Metamora. A visit to that
location on May 21st by Jim Kortge confirmed the presence of sticks on the upper
level of the cell tower adjacent to the village office complex. Talking
with the employees there confirmed sightings of ospreys on the tower,
including last year. There is evidence to suggest there may have been a
nest on top of the cell tower monopole that was removed by workers in
the February-March timeframe. We'll have to continue to watch this
location to see what develops during the nesting season.
A trip
to Monroe and the old Ford plant on Elm avenue on May 17th was
undertaken to check the status of the nest there. Rumors had surfaced
about the nest catching on fire last fall, due to shorting of the power lines over and under it,
after the ospreys had left for migration. Indeed, we discovered that
the nest was gone and new top structure on the power pole had been
installed. During that trip, we discussed with DTE and Ford
representatives the possibility of adding an extension to the power
pole where the nest had been to allow the installation of a nesting
platform above the pole and wires. Implementing such a platform is
currently an active project with DTE, Ford, and OWSEM. We also learned
that the ospreys had attempted to build a nest on a nearby light pole,
only to have the strong spring winds blow it off of the pole; a total
loss of the new nest. However, the ospreys are still present in the
area and are seen frequently, but are not nesting this season. Prior to
driving over to the Ford facility, Jim and Kathy Kortge visited the
cell tower nest at the Detroit Ave. and Telb Rd. intersection. The
female was in the nest incubating and as they were leaving, the male
arrived. No photos were taken because of the driving rain!
On
May 14th we received a report Frank Evanoff of an osprey sighted at
Lake Fenton, near the boat launch. This is an exciting report as it
suggests that the osprey population is continuing to expand its range.
John
Lowry (Hamburg Township) reported on the UMICH Birders group the
sighting of an osprey carrying a fish on Appleton Lake. This report was
on May 8th.
On May 4th, Marge Ross reported seeing and osprey
dive into a pond near her home and come out with a large gold fish. The
pond is near the intersection of D19 and Triangle Lake Rd.
Jim
VanAllen sent us a report on May 3rd of an osprey he saw near Great
Lakes Crossing Mall. Some big lakes just West of that mall, so maybe an
osprey is nesting in that area, but the nest has not been found.
We
had a report from Jerry Jourdan that the ospreys were nesting again at
Pte. Mouillee. The nest at the Lead unit was occupied on April 29th,
but the platform at the Vermet unit did not have an osprey pair on it.
More recently, we've been told that a new osprey pair has started
building a nest on the Vermet unit platform, but have not had that
report confirmed. Perhaps someone who frequents Pte. Mouillee could
provide confirmation via a photograph.
On April 28th, Nancy Hooper reported seeing an osprey over Ford Lake. This is the first osprey report from that area.
Anna
Walker reported seeing an osprey in Parshallville on April 19th.
Subsequent reports from Anna and a visit to that area revealed the
beginning of a new nest in the cell tower located just East of town.
In
like manner, Laura Plevek reported seeing an osprey on a cell tower
just south of Bergin Rd. and old US 23 on April 17th. Subsequent visits
by Laura and Jim Kortge confirmed the beginnings of a new nest in this
cell tower.
Connie Spotts reported on April 16th that the osprey pair on the cell tower in Onstead were back and repairing their nest.
On
April 15th, Joe Lambert sent along a report and photos of an osprey
pair nesting on a new platform installed on the impoundment at Sterling
State Park. The old platform was removed due to severe ice damage and a
new one installed in an area less prone to ice movement. One of Joe's
photos is shown on the main OWSEM page.
Sean Bachman reported to
the UMICH Birders group of seeing an osprey with a fish land in a cell
tower near US23 and 8 Mile road. He posted his report on April 12th.
April
4th, C09 and mate abandoned their nest located near the Hacking Tower.
We surmise that the huge crush of photographers (15+, pushing right to
the edge of the lake) and 300+ noisy visitors that passed by the site
were too much for C09's mate and she abandoned her nest. They might
have moved to the safety of the tripod platfrom out further in the
lake, but that was occupied by a goose. C09 has been seen on occasion,
but if he and mate relocated to another location, they have not been
discovered. Their Wildwing Lake nest is now shown on the Sighting Map
as an abandoned nest for 2010.
Julie
Craves sent along a report from Walt Pawloski that the osprey pair
nesting in the cell tower behind Carlson High School in Gibraltar were
back as of April 1st. Thanks to Julie and Walt for keeping us
up-to-date on this nest.
That's evenything we have to report. All of the sightings and new nests have been added to the 2010 Sighting Map.
Thanks
to everyone for your help in providing reports, updates, general
information, etc. on our Southeast Michigan ospreys. Without you help
and dedication, we could not distribute this important information.
Keep those reports coming..... :-)
| April 3rd
An explosion of osprey sightings has occurred in the past several days. Here is what we know.
Friday,
March 26th: Jim Ridley reported a female osprey on Wildwing Lake.
He saw another Wildwing Lake female osprey also on March 27th.
Also on the 26th, Shirley
Sorensen reported seeing an osprey on the cell tower in Milford behind
Milford Concrete. On the day before, there was an unconfirmed report of
an osprey on this tower from a concrete truck driver.
Sunday,
March 28th: Barb Jensen observed two ospreys leaving the cell
tower nest behind Acme Building Materials on old US-23 at about 5:00 in
the afternoon. We assume it is C22 and mate, but that has not been
confirmed.
That same day, Stevie Kuroda reported the presence of
a male osprey on the Dawson #2 nest on the Huron River in Kensington
Metropark.
Monday, March 29th: This was a very active day. Jim
Ridley reported seeing an osprey on the Hilton Rd. cell tower nest at
about 9:00 in the morning. On that same day, Joyce Schulke, owner
of Wildernest in Brighton and long time OWSEM supporter, saw a pair of
ospreys on the Hilton Rd. nest in the late afternoon.
Also on
the 29th, we received a report from Lou Burke who saw an osprey
bringing in sticks to the Skuse Rd. nest about 3:00 in the afternoon.
This nest is near Hillsdale, MI.
We also received a report from
Dave Cornelius that the ospreys at the Highland, MI cell tower nest
were back and may have been back as early as the 27th or 28 of March.
This is probably C42 and mate, but that has yet to be confirmed. They
are rebuilding their nest from scratch, as the nest was destroyed by
cell tower workers 3-4 weeks ago.
Irene Allan of Bruce Allan Autobody also reported seeing the ospreys rebuilding the nest on the Highland, MI cell tower.
Tuesday, March 30th: Barb Jensen observed a male and female osprey on the Dawson #2 nest. The male had a koi fish.
Wednesday,
March 31st: We received another report from Janet Weisbrod that the 3
ospreys she had reported earlier were busily bringing sticks to the
cell tower nest on Old Farm Lane in Commerce Township.
Also on
the 31st we received a report from Paul Podot that an osprey had
returned to the cell tower nest near the intersection of Detroit Ave.
and Telb Rd. in Monroe, MI. We first met Paul last summer when we were
down that way photographing ospreys in the Monroe area.
Martha
Wolfe from the Stony Creek hacking activity sent a report on the 31st
of an osprey on the cell tower East of the intersection of Mound Rd.
and 31 Mile Rd.
Thursday, April 1st: We received confirmation
that the male osprey on Wildwing Lake was indeed C09. That information
was provided by Frank Wiltrakis and Dennis Bates Jr. Frank send along a
photo of C09 with that bright green hacking band still in place. Franks
photo is on the OWSEM home page and we very much appreciate being
able to use it.
Also on the 1st, we received a report from Betty
Bryant of an osprey bringing sticks to the Skuse Rd. nest. Betty is one
of our regular reporters of Skuse Rd. nest activity.
Kelly
Fiedler reported seeing and photographing a male osprey bringing sticks
to the Inwood Rd. nest in Macomb county, also on the 1st. He sent along
several photos, but we don't yet have permission to use them. We have been told the nest at the Inwood Rd. cell site was also destroyed by cell tower workers sometime during the past 6-months.
Friday,
April 2nd: Hal Norris from the Macomb Sportsman Club reported seeing a
pair of ospreys at the Inwood Rd. nest, so it appears both birds are
back. We hope they are successful nesters this season. They have not
been for the past 3 seasons.
On the 2nd we also received anther
report from Betty Bryant that both ospreys at the Skuse Rd. nest were
bringing in nesting material which looked like mud or muck. Ospreys
often will use muck and weeds to help hold the nest together and form
the bowl shape.
That's all of the reports that we have received
to date. I sure hope that no body got left out of this very long list.
If we missed someone, please let us know. We are very thankful to all
of our OWSEM volunteers for sending in field reports and photos. We
could not function at all well without your help!
Please keep your reports coming in......
|
March 19th
The
2010 osprey season is off and running with a report today
from OWSEM volunteer Janet Weisbrod. She reported seeing 3 ospreys
on the cell tower at Old Farm Lane in Commerce Twp. Janet was the
person who discovered this nesting location in 2009.
That's the
latest...stay tuned for more updates!
|
|
Please help us keep
tabs on Southeast Michigan's ospreys. If you see an osprey, we
encourage you to report the sighting to OWSEM by email at osprey"at"owsem.org or
by phone to 810-629-0378.
Please note the
date, time and location of
the sighting and any identifying features, for example leg bands or
missing flight feathers. Ospreys may be wearing one or several bands on
their legs. The US Fish & Wildlife band is silver metal and
could be on either leg, depending on when it was banded and by whom.
The numbers on these bands are very small and will probably be
difficult, if not impossible, to read even with a good spotting scope.
Colored plastic bands may also be present, in addition to the
USF&W band, on one or both legs. There may be one, two or even
three of these colored bands. Note the color and location of the bands,
for example "right leg USF&W band with green band above, and
left leg with blue band on bottom and red band on top".
Birds that were
released as part of the Osprey Reintroduction Program of Southern
Michigan will have the USF&W band on the right leg and a bright
green metal band on the left. This green band will have very large
white text and should be easy to read (for example "C22"). We are
particularly interested in sightings of the hacked birds as it helps to
determine the success of the reintroduction project.
Thank you for your
cooperation!
|
|
