Uncas
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Uncas...... is an adult male trapped on Smith Neck at the mouth of the Connecticut River on June 1st. He was named for a sachem of the Mohegan tribe in southern Connecticut. When we trapped Uncas, there were 2 young and an unhatched egg in the nest. A week later, the young had died. We don't know what happened. We can't rule out stress associated with the trapping and tagging. It's a reality that we accept, and having weighed the value of all the information we're collecting about the migration and foraging ecology of the birds against the chance of nest failures, we've decided that the balance leans in favor of continued tagging, although I'm definitely winding down the project. |
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2-9 JuneThe first week we followed Uncas, he spent all his time fishing the mouth of the Connecticut River, never venturing farther than 3.5 miles (5.7 km) from his nest. |
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10-16 JuneUncas has expanded his fishing a bit west to Menunketesuck Island. He also made one trip up the Connecticut River, but still is concentrating all his fishing to the near shore waters of Long Island Sound. Even though his young died, he is still providing food to his mate and defending the nest. In this highly successful and crowded colony, real estate is highly valued, and it behooves the pair to maintain their claim on the nest. The loss of one clutch is not important in the long run. Ospreys are long-lived birds, and the pair should have many chances to breed in the years to come. |
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30 Aug - 4 Sep 2014Uncas faked us out with a move down the coast on the 29th. After spending the night in Milford, just west of New Haven, he surprised us by heading northeast back inland and looping back to his home in Old Lyme. Very strange. |
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