spring migration.....

Are the Ospreys on their way home? Our weather here has us thinking about an early spring and I am already getting reports of Ospreys back on the nest but I question these sightings. Our Ospreys from Minnesota usually spend their winters  in South and Central America. They are unaware of what the weather is like here in the upper Midwest. What is it that triggers their northerly spring migration? It is not necessarily weather related. The urge to migrate is triggered by a hormonal response to the length of the day. We do not currently have any Ospreys here with satellite transmitters on them to monitor their movements, but Ospreys in other parts of the world that are being followed do show movement. Some Ospreys have shown up on nests in the southeastern U.S. But this is just the beginning of the northerly movements of the earliest migrants. I do believe that weather has some effect upon their migration since they rely upon strong northerly winds to carry them back to their breeding territories. When they begin to get closer to home, if they encounter frozen lakes, a snowy landscape or strong southerly winds they will begin to slow down. Food (fish) may be difficult to find. Northerly movements may slow down or even halt. I have been documenting return dates here for 23 years and while there is some variation in return dates, it does not vary wildly. We will probably not see Ospreys returning to their nests a month early. We have seen return dates altered  by a week or so if they are lucky enough to find open fishable waters and good northerly wind currents. The older more experienced breeding pairs are usually the first to return since they know that the sooner they lay eggs, the greater the chance of survival for their offspring. (Those older chicks begin their fall migration better prepared than late hatching juveniles.) Younger unmated Ospreys will continue to trickle in until late April, looking for mates and territories while the early returning birds will already be incubating.
Having said all that, we are preparing for the return of our winged friends. I know many nest monitors have been in touch with me and I hope all that have monitored in the past will contact me and re-up for another year of observing these magnificent raptors. We ALWAYS need more help, with over 120 nests to watch over, so if anyone is interested in watching over a nest or two thru the breeding season, please email me at osprey.mn@gmail.com so we can talk about our monitoring protocols and find an appropriate nest for you to adopt. We ask that you commit to checking the nests once a week, and if you are unable to for some reason (vacation, sickness, life) just let me know so we can fill in. It is necessary to have some birding equipment....a spotting scope or good binoculars. I am getting myself prepared....got a new tripod (thanks Anamaria Betterman!), a new field notebook, last years data bound and ready for reference, new charts on my iPad ready to fill in for the 2017 season. Hope some more of you will join us in the great Osprey adventure this year!