On Osprey Time

Juvenile Osprey playing at Salt Point just before migrating, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek.  Autumn in the Eastern U.S. is a restless time of year for wildlife and especially birds.  Reports of incredible endurance and distances traveled during wildlife migrations range  monarch butterflies, elk, humpback whales, American eels, Atlantic salmon, menhaden,  and striped bass. Birds are famous for their migration feats and global travels, notably  shorebirds like the Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot, and Artic Tern, and long-distant raptors  such as Broad-winged, Sharp-shinned, and Red-tailed Hawk, and the Osprey. Lilibit, calmly sitting, prior to her being overcome with zugunruhe, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek.  In autumn, migratory birds and other animals succumb to zugunruhe , a German word  describing the intense “migratory restlessness period.” Zugunruhe is the internal cue that  signals seasonal migrations; it causes the uncontrollable urge to move and travel  thousands of