Ornithology Commons^™

Wintering Ecology Of Adult North American Ospreys, Brian E. Washburn, Charles J. Henny, Mark S. Martell, Richard O. Bierregaard, Brian S. Dorr, Thomas J. Olexa

Brian S Dorr

North American Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) typically migrate long distances to their wintering grounds in the tropics. Beyond the general distribution of their wintering range (i.e., the Caribbean, South America, and Central America), very little is known about the wintering ecology of these birds. We used satellite telemetry to determine the duration of wintering period, to examine the characteristics of wintering areas used by Ospreys, and to quantify space use and activity patterns of wintering Ospreys. Adult Ospreys migrated to wintering sites and exhibited high wintering site fidelity among years. Overall, Ospreys wintered on river systems (50.6%) more than on lakes …