An osprey was found in the road. It turned out to be a 19-year-old who repopulated Iowa.
Two local bird watchers in West Des Moines rescued an osprey after they found the bird sitting in the middle of Army Post Road in late April.
The individuals were able to help the osprey avoid traffic while they waited for Iowa Bird Rehabilitation to come help the bird. The raptor species typically has a 6-foot wingspan and can dive into bodies of water moving as fast as 40 mph, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
This female osprey was found with a band on each leg. When Iowa Bird Rehabilitation looked up the information on one of the bands, they learned it was a 19-year-old osprey who has helped bring back the raptor's population in Iowa.
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What is the typical age for ospreys?
This is an unusually old age for ospreys, said Jenni Boonjakuakul, the founder and executive director of Iowa Bird Rehabilitation. The bird species typically live to be 10-12 years old. Considering ospreys migrate to South America for the winter, Boonjakuakul said it is amazing for one to make it to 19 years old.
"So to be 19, it is a significantly older bird," Boonjakuakul said.
How did this 19-year-old osprey make its way to Iowa?
The bands on the bird's legs were also clues to its history in Iowa.
One band, labeled "Y8," told rescuers that the raptor was part of an osprey reintroduction program in Iowa that fran from 2005 to 2011. The female bird came to Iowa from northern Minnesota in 2006 as a 42-day-old bird.
"She was banded, and that's the only reason she knew who she was and how old she was," Boonjakuakul said. "Banding is really important for us as we do our conservation work."
The conservation program allowed Ospreys to be raised in a hack tower, which is a tower where the birds can live while learning how to eat and build their flying strength. It also protects the ospreys from other predators as they grow to eventually leave and live on their own.
The fact that the Y8 osprey still returns to Iowa is a testament to the success of the re-introduction program, Boonjakuakul said.
"Those programs are working," Boonjakuakul said. "Birds are surviving. They are reproducing young and they're building our population here in Iowa."
What happened to the 19-year-old Osprey
It is unclear how the Osprey ended up on the road. When it was taken in for evaluation, no broken bones were found. It is a possibility she ran into a power line and had a concussion, said Boonjakuakul. Given the bird's age Boonjakuakul contacted Saving Our Avian Resources, which specializes in birds of prey, for assistance.
"It's just kind of an odd presentation of injuries," Boonjakuakul said. "So we really don't know for sure what happened to her."
SOAR took her into rehabilitation, where the osprey spent more than a month building her strength, said Kay Neumann, the executive director. Neumann thinks the Osprey may have experienced some deep bruising and possibly a cracked shoulder blade.
"It took her a while to decide that she felt all right to start flying in one of our big flight pens," Neumann said. "So definitely not a hangnail."
After some time and care, the two organizations returned the osprey to her home in West Des Moines.
The 19-year-old Y8 Osprey is a Des Moines metro local
This isn't the first time this wise, old osprey has returned to Iowa. Her return to Iowa was recorded around 2009, just three years after her release from the reintroduction program.
She has likely returned to the same nesting spot every year since. Most of the offspring in the area likely come from this 19-year-old Y8 Osprey, Boonjakuakul said.
The Y8 Osprey's mate was also seen as recently as late May. Ospreys mate for life, so Boonjakuakul is hopeful the two raptors will reunite.
"It's fascinating and really promising that all the work and effort that a lot of people did 10-20 years ago is working," Boonjakuakul
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @ Kkealey17 .
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: An osprey was found in the road. It turned out to be a 19-year-old who repopulated Iowa.
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