Red Banded Osprey from Long Beach Island Rescued in Trinidad!
by Ben Wurst Posted on
Banding and re-sighting birds is such a rewarding experience. You never know where and when a bird that you banded will show up and what you will learn from that encounter. Banding is a method for biologists to track migratory birds and gain valuable information about them through band re-sightings or encounters. Each year, around 10-20% of young ospreys that are documented during nest surveys in New Jersey are banded with USGS bird bands for future tracking. On Barnegat Bay, through Project RedBand, young ospreys are also banded with red auxiliary, or “field readable” bands. Since 2014, over 600 red bands have been deployed and in recent years we have had more re-sightings of birds that are alive as opposed to those that were found dead. In 2024, we identified 30 ospreys in New Jersey by their red bands.
We don’t receive many re-sightings of red banded ospreys on their wintering grounds, so when we do they are really special! Last week, osprey 04/P, named “Jeff,” that was banded on July 9, 2024 during our “Junior Wildlife Biologists” camp at the Long Beach Island Foundation of Arts & Sciences (LBIF). The nest where this osprey fledged is home to Jack & Wendy, who were once declared as “LBI’s Most Famous Pair of Nesting Ospreys.” Those who are familiar with CWF, know that we have partnered with LBIF for many years now. From relocating this osprey nest platform to enhancing their Nature Trail and creating a turtle garden to a large wildflower meadow on Long Beach Blvd. Here there is a walkway from the Nature Trail which ends at the Osprey Blind, where you can get your best view of Jack & Wendy and a beautiful sunset during the summer months.
04/P in foreground with siblings on nest in Loveladies. July 2024.
This past year Jack & Wendy produced four young, which was quite extraordinary (and a first for them!). This means that Jack, the adult male osprey had to find enough prey to feed himself, his mate and four offspring that eat around half their body weight each day, so that’s a lot of fish! They were around 5-6 weeks when banded with red “field readable” auxiliary bands and USGS bird bands: 01/P, 02/P, 03/P & 04/P (see photo above, from banding day).
We heard from a gentleman who said that 04/P was brought to a veterinarian in South Trinidad, after being found on the ground, thin but with no apparent injuries. We’re thankful to the finder, Sham S. and his friend David H., who are birders and photographers in Trinidad. David has re-sighted other red banded ospreys on Trinidad from Barnegat Bay in the past.
04/P in hand after being rescued in SW Trinidad. Photo by Sham S.
He said that he has seen hundreds of ospreys soaring at a waterbody called “Pitch Lake” in the past but has seen less in recent years. I had to look up the lake to see where it was and what it looked like and found that, according to the World Heritage Convention, it “is the largest, commercial deposit of natural asphalt in the world. The natural phenomenon of Pitch Lakes is an important aspect of earth’s history; it relates to the formation of oil and gas.” It is a major tourist attraction on the island. It is interesting to hear how ospreys use this site, which most likely is a place to rest and soar but not forage due to the poor water quality.
We received an update from Sham S. on the condition of 04/P yesterday and he wrote, “As of now the bird has regained its strength and is eating well. Issue with its leg although no visible signs of injury remains the major concern.” We hope that 04/P recovers and is able to be released. In other news, our report for the previous year will be out in the next week. Stay tuned for more updates.
All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL (Permit # 22803).
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How far they fly! Amazing! Hopefully, 04/P will be back soaring in the sky soon. Thanks for the update.