Bethine

Alpha Flag Code:

CC

Capture date:

4-30-14

Sex:

Female

Location:

The Long-billed Curlew Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) between Middleton and Emmett Idaho.

Namesake:

Bethine was named after Bethine Church. The Church’s are a famous couple in Idaho, known for their work in conservation of Idaho’s wild places. In fact, one of the largest wilderness areas in the lower 48 shares their name: The Frank Church river of no return wilderness.

After 3 successful years returning to her breeding grounds on the ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern) to meet up with her mate Frank, we noticed something fishy upon her arrival in the spring of 2017…she was not with Frank! She spent the first few weeks on private property and then we noticed on the satellite tracking  map that her “dot” stopped moving in the middle a farm field on the border of the ACEC. By the time we got to the location of where her satellite transmitter sent its last signal, the field had already been tilled. We will never know what happened to her, but we do know for sure that without her help, we would have never gained the wealth of valuable migratory information that she provided to this study- thank you Bethine!