Sanford Picks Up The Pace             October 24, 2011

Sanford picked up the pace a bit and hasn't don't quite as much fishing.  As of today he's about 20 miles east of Orlando, FL. He's still way behind his pace last year in many ways. Last year Sanford left on October 2nd and was near Orlando on October 6th. This year however, didn't leave until October 12th, and he reached Orlando on October 23rd. It took him around seven extra days to make the trip this year. You can compare Sanfords southern migrations so far by looking at the second map below. He'll have to make his decision soon about where he's going for the winter. We'll have to keep looking and see where Sanford goes next!

This map shows Sanford's path last year (in red), and his path so far this year (orange).

Gone Fishin'!                  October 17, 2011

Well, Sanford took a sharp turn when he approached Trenton, NJ and continued his route south. Between Edison and Trenton he made two long stops perhaps to stock up on some fish for the travel. The pictures are below:

Sanford's journey between October 14th and October 17th.

The first fishing trip was for a couple of days just outside of Milltown, NJ.

The second fishing trip was about a day just outside of Princeton, NJ.

October 14, 2011

After soaking up the rays over the warm long weekend along with the rest of us, Sanford finally realized it was actually October and left Westport this past Wednesday to migrate for the winter. He passed right through the heart of New York City and as of today is just south of Edison, New Jersey. He got up to 51 mph at one point as he zipped over Long Island Sound.  We'll post updates as he keeps making his way down. We'll see how his path compares to last year, and see if he ends up back in the Bahamas, or if he decides to vacation somewhere else.  Stay tuned!

September 29, 2011

Sanford is getting ready to make his move south.  Below you can see where he has been since he arrived in Westport this year. There are many questions about his migration this year. Will he leave as late as he did when left Cuba this year? Will he return to the same area? Will he take the same path?  Keep checking the website for updates on his departure date and flight path.

November 1, 2010

Sanford has found his winter home in the Bahamas!  He's on the west coast and about 15 miles from the nearest major road.  We'll keep an eye on him, but it looks like he's in a pretty good spot.  We're glad he chose to play it safe in the Bahamas, and are looking forward to his return to Westport.

October 21, 2010

Sanford has taken an odd turn.  He flew south to Cuba, flew down the coast, and then turned north and flew up to the Bahamas.  We don't know if that's intentional, if he got turned around, or if he'll stay there but it sure is interesting.  Keep checking in to see what he ends up doing.

There is also some unfortunate news.  Gunny was unable to complete his trip south. The theory is that he ran into some bad weather just of the coast of Venezuela.  Another bird with a transmitter was lost in the same area right around the same time, so Rob Bierregaard thinks they must have hit a bad storm that they couldn't get through. Below is an image of his entire trip south and another one of where his transmitter stopped.

Westport is home to one of the more significant breeding populations of Osprey in North America. Building on the legacy of Gil and Jo Fernandez, who, over 40 years, installed nearly 100 breeding platforms in the Westport River and Allens Pond, the Westport River Watershed Alliance and Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary have joined forces to maintain those platforms and monitor the breeding activity of some 80 pairs of Osprey since 2002.

Now these two organizations are launching a new initiative to learn more about where our Westport Osprey catch their fish locally and where they migrate in the winter. By putting small transmitters on the backs of three adult male Ospreys, we will be able to track their travels on an hourly basis. The information will be posted on this website and will be available not only to interested Osprey fans, but also will be incorporated into local school programs to teach about migration and wildlife behavior.

This website provides links to many sites relating to Osprey and to Westport. We invite you to explore with us and see how you can participate in this fascinating 21st Century learning adventure.

October 6, 2010

Sanford has certainly figured out this whole migrating thing pretty quickly after stubbornly sticking around in Westport for a couple extra weeks.  He flew out over the Atlantic from South Carolina to Florida rather than following the coastline down like Gunny did.  He landed in Cuba by October 6th and we'll see what he does next.