586 Brighton Barb

586 Brighton Barb

Banded on July 2, 2015
Transmitter installed on July 8, 2015
Fledged on July 24, 2015
Deceased on July 30, 2015

On July 30th we noticed, according to the data information gathered from her transmitter, Brighton Barb’s gps coordinates had not recorded in 2 days and the solar powered battery had lost its charge. We assumed that Barb was likely hiding under the tree canopy. Using her last data fix and those final coordinates we set out to search the woodlot next to the Brighton water tower from where she had fledged. Google maps led us directly to her location, on the ground and in a defensive posture. Unable to tell how long she had been grounded but knowing she was in need of veterinary care we rushed her to the waiting veterinary staff at the Detroit Zoo. The preliminary exam was not encouraging and x-rays confirmed an unfortunate diagnosis. Brighton Barb was suffering from a fractured femur and was close to starvation. Sadly we lost Barb that afternoon. Blood work and necropsy results are still pending. We recovered Brighton Barb’s transmitter and are currently in search of a suitable candidate.

Brighton Barb, so named by Sergej Postupalsky, is the offspring of C09, the first of many reintroduced Ospreys to return to southern MI since 2002 and raise young. We were excited to welcome his return to Kensington Metropark three years after his first flight in 1999 and watch as he and his mate raised the first known chick to hatch in the southern section of the lower peninsula in decades. In 2011 he moved his nest to a water tower in Brighton, less than a mile from Kensington as the bird flies. This year we decided to outfit one of his chicks with a “backpack” unit. Access to the nest on top of the tower wasn’t easy but thanks to both Clearlink Wireless Solutions and Skyline Services, LLC crews climbed, successfully captured Brighton Barb and we were able to band and outfit her with a gps/gsm unit. Hopefully she is blessed with her father’s genes and will provide us with many years of tracking information.

Use the calendar at the top of the map to help navigate through the path of the Osprey. Click on a date and a dot representing each bird appears on the map for that date. Click on that dot, and more detailed information will appear. Drag the dot along the lines to see their path.