Colorado Osprey Migration Project

Beason, Jason

Raptors are at the top of the food chain and, therefore, excellent indicators of local environmental health. Raptors are also fascinating creatures and people of all ages are easily attracted to and awed by their impressive size, speed, and beauty. Populations of many bird species, including raptors, are declining and in order to reverse this trend, a better understanding of their full annual cycle is necessary. Connections between breeding habitats in the United States and wintering habitats in tropical and sub-tropical regions in Mexico, Central and South America are largely unknown. However, this knowledge is needed to effectively conserve neotropical migratory bird populations. Migratory pathways and wintering areas for the various populations of raptors that breed in or near Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) are not well understood. We know Ospreys breed on the west side of ROMO along the headwaters of the Colorado River and can migrate as far south as South America during winter (Poole et al. 2002). Our research in 2013 showed that Osprey breeding near the west boundary of ROMO will migrate to eastern Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. (Beason 2015). Recent advances in technology make demonstrating migratory connectivity between countries and even continents possible. With the goal of identifying conservation needs, we set out to document the migratory routes, stopover sites, and winter ranges of Ospreys that breed in the Rocky Mountain region. This project and our previous research has identified where two Ospreys breeding near ROMO go during winter months and we investigated winter site fidelity by tracking the same individual Osprey two separate years. Estes Park, located at the entrance to ROMO, is a part of the Sister Cities International Program which was formed in 1967 to establish connections between the U.S. and other countries. To strengthen this relationship the Estes Park Sister Cities Association Incorporated was founded in 2002 and formally entered into a Sister City agreement with Monteverde Costa Rica in 2004. Monteverde like Estes Park, is adjacent to several protected areas and one national park (Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Children’s Eternal Rainforest and Arenal Volcano NP). All of these protected areas are within the Agua Y Paz Biosphere Reserve and are designated Important Bird Areas. ROMO is also a Biosphere Reserve and a Global Important Bird Area. On August 24, 2012, the US National Park Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservation, which is Costa Rica’s National System of Protected Areas. This agreement promotes the exchange of information between the National Park Service and protected areas within Costa Rica and is a major reason this project was promoted by ROMO.