Ohio Wildlife Biologists Track Osprey to the Amazon 
Using Radio Transmitters

Summary of The 2006 Migration North…

The ospreys spent the winter in South America along the Amazon River.  The female stayed in Colombia, 19 miles southeast of Leticia, and the male over-wintered in Brazil, 50 miles northwest of Tefe.  In mid-December the female moved north to the Guaviare River, 250 miles southwest of Bogota, Colombia where she stayed until the end of March.  On March 28th the female began moving north to Venezuela, 350 miles from her wintering location.  Unfortunately, in early April it became obvious that she was no longer moving and had died in Venezuela.  There was no way to retrieve her transmitter.

The male began migrating north from Brazil on March 7th.  He crossed the ocean from South America to Cuba during the night of March 16th, and after a few days in Cuba he headed 170 miles north to Florida on March 23rd.  By March 31st at 6:00 am the male had landed in Ohio after flying through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.  He had traveled 3,700 miles in 27 days, reaching Alum Creek Reservoir in Delaware County in the early morning of April 2nd.  Satellite locations indicated that the he had flown past Alum Creek by about 70 miles then turned around.  Since his arrival he has mated with a new female and they are nesting on platform #1.  Watch the Alum Creek Osprey Nesting update page for current happenings.