Jo,
I am not familiar with the particular project you describe and you have some good questions. Reintroduction of Osprey to areas that once supported populations has been successful. According to Alan Poole, of 111 young hacked (translocated) by Larry Rymon, et al. in Pennsylvania in the early eighties about 20% returned to where they were hacked, most in their fourth year, and were successful breeders. In addition, one paired with an unbanded "wild" bird so one could argue that hacking might help attract other birds to a new area. Some also nested in trees (natural nest sites). Some of the young birds were fishing on their own within days of fledging, so it seems that having a parent around is not absolutely required for learning to fish. Osprey normally migrate as individuals so hacked birds don't seem to face additional challenges. Hacking has also been used in reintroductions of Peregrines, Sea Eagles, and Bald Eagles. I have been told that Larry Rymon is now living here in Washington. It would be nice if he could elaborate more on his experiences.

Ed Schulz
Everett, WA
-----Original Message-----
From: Joaw9 at aol.com <Joaw9 at aol.com>
To: eschulz at gte.net <eschulz at gte.net>
Cc: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, August 11, 2002 5:30 PM
Subject: Osprey translocation question


Ed Schulz (and/or fellow Tweeters) --
What do you know about the Osprey Project? I received a newspaper clipping from my friend in Antigo, Wisconsin about osprey chicks that were stolen (my word here) from their nest, raised at the Antigo's Raptor Education Group wildlife center, and are slated for release at the Big Lake Muskego in southeast Wisconsin.
The questions that occurred to me but were not covered in the article are these:
How successful are osprey translocation projects? If the osprey are raised by humans, how well do they eventually hunt without the benefit of their parents to teach them? What difficulties do they encounter when it is time to migrate? Do they just follow other osprey heading south? When it is time for them to eventually return north to breed, what are the odds they will return to the nest, Antigo, or Big Lake Muskego?

Jo Waldron
Everett, WA
joaw9 at aol.com