New Collaborations and Project Takes Flight!

This summer, we have expanded our collaborations and projects on Golden Eagles in Wyoming. Building on the long-term eagle project in the Bighorn Basin initiated by TRC Research Associate Dr. Chuck Preston, we have launched an exciting new partnership with Dr. Ellen Aikens at the University of Wyoming to explore lifetime learning in Golden Eagles. Utilizing cutting-edge transmitters that provide sub-second GPS fixes and 3-D movement and direction data, our team aims to study how eagles learn to hunt, navigate habitats, and develop flight strategies over time. This collaboration, combining Dr. Preston’s extensive data, the field expertise of the TRC team, and the analytical skills of Dr. Aikens and her graduate students, exemplifies how joint efforts are advancing conservation.

Many young raptors are fledging from their nests around this time, but young Ospreys are still lingering in theirs. TRC’s volunteers have checked on 79 total platforms this season. They began observing chicks in late June and have documented at least seven occupied platforms with nine young Ospreys this year, similar to the number of occupied nests that produced chicks last year. Osprey chicks are expected to fledge by mid-September, so we have several more weeks of nest observations before they head to their non-breeding grounds.

Interestingly, adult Ospreys spend 6-8 months on their wintering grounds, while dispersing juveniles may remain there for up to 18 months before returning north for their first breeding season. Ospreys from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem often winter along the Gulf of Mexico and Texas, but one juvenile was even documented migrating all the way to Guatemala!