MIGRATION - 2004
Introduction
Who's Who? - See the five
birds we tagged in 2004.
Where were they tagged?
First movements
Travels begin (follow the whole journey for each bird):
Jaws (young
tagged in Chilmark)
Bluebeard (adult male from Aquinnah)
Elsie (adult female from Cow Bay in Edgartown)
Bunga (Elsie's young)
Tasha (young tagged at Tashmoo in Vineyard Haven)
Migration continues (for those who have already followed the birds, start
with the maps in the mid Atlantic states):
Jaws
Elsie
Tasha
Bluebeard
Cuba and beyond:
Jaws
Elsie
Tasha
Bluebeard
In South America:
This is a first ever--photos
of a satellite-tagged Osprey (Jaws)
on his wintering grounds in Colombia!
2004
Early in 2004 we got a call from the BBC asking if we could help them with a
documentary they were planning to do on animal migration. Always willing to help
with environmental education, we agreed and the BBC bought four new transmitters
for us. It took two trips to do
it, but we eventually got all five transmitters on birds. Who's who?
The transmitters we put on the five birds have ID numbers that will appear
on the maps we'll post as the birds head south. 29831
is an adult female at Cow Bay, whom we just had to name "Elsie." [See
where we tagged this bird]
52333 is her lone offspring this year, whom we're calling
"Bunga" (another, somewhat obscure, reference to the Cow Bay nest
site). Bunga was trapped, banded, and outfitted with a PTT (Platform
Telemetry Transmitter) a day or so
after he took his first flight.
In this picture, I'm freeing Bunga from the noose-carpet trap we used to
catch him/her so that we could outfit him with his transmitter. [See
where we tagged this bird] |

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52334 is "Jaws," a young bird this year trapped on
his nest a week or so after his first flight. Jennifer Rettew, my UNCC-Charlotte
graduate student studying Ospreys on the Vineyard, and Jaws are having a
bit of a stare down in this picture. [See
where we tagged this bird]
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52332 is an adult male, named "Bluebeard," that
has the westernmost nest on Martha's Vineyard (at the Outermost Inn in
Aquinnah). [See
where we tagged this bird]
52335 is "Tasha," a young bird tagged in her nest on
Tashmoo after her sibling had started to fly, but before she did. [See
where we tagged this bird]
Where the birds were tagged:
[Back
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MAPS The
maps below show where the birds were in early August. To follow an
individual bird, click on: Jaws (young
tagged in Chilmark)
Bluebeard (adult male from Aquinnah)
Elsie (adult female from Cow Bay in Edgartown)
Bunga (Elsie's young)
Tasha (young tagged at Tashmoo in Vineyard Haven) The map below shows the locations
of Tasha (52335), Elsie (29381) and her offspring Bunga (52333). Tasha
was the last of our tagged young to fledge and is just starting to explore. We
only had a few good locations from Bunga while the satellites were overhead. He
could have been hunting out in the Sound or moving back and forth from Chappy to
Oak Bluffs.
In the map below, Bluebeard (the adult male from Aquinnah-52332)
has been hunting fairly far offshore. Jaws, a recent fledgling, has been
exploring and checking out the Elizabeth Islands and No Man's Land. (In this map,
Elsie's points are hidden beneath Bunga's.)
2004 Highlights (in reverse
chronological order)
4
October: (Scroll
down for earlier "group photo" maps)
Here's a
teaser--where everybody was on the morning of 4 October. Details and comments
are on the
individual maps. (When I update the maps, I
send an email out to a list of map addicts to let them know that new maps have
been posted. Send
me an email to be included.)
 Elsie
is the adult
female from Cow Bay. Jaws is a young bird
tagged in Chilmark and the first to South America. Bluebeard is the adult male at the Outermost Inn
nest. He finally gave up on his butter-taloned young and is heading south. Tasha was tagged at Lake Tashmoo before she could
fly.
She's the baby of the bunch. The film crew from the BBC, who paid for our 4 new transmitters this
year, wrapped up filming on the 3rd and are back in Merrie Olde England.
(Scroll down to see where all the birds
were on 25, 14 and 3 Sept.) |
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Where they all were on 25 September:


Where they all were on 14 September:
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29831 is Elsie, the adult
female from Cow Bay. 52334 is Jaws, a young bird
tagged in Chilmark. 52332 is Bluebeard, the adult male at the Outermost Inn
nest. He's stuck on the Vineyard feeding a youngster who can't figure out how to
catch fish. 52335 is Tasha, tagged at Lake Tashmoo before she could fly.
She's the baby of the bunch. The film crew from the BBC, who paid for our 4 new transmitters this
year, is keeping up with the youngsters, right in between Jaws and Tasha. |
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The way things were on 3 September:
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