Star

Deceased: possible depredation? Spring 2018

Alpha Flag Code:

JV

Capture date:

May 29, 2017

Sex:

Female

Location:

Saratoga, WY

Namesake:

We named her Star because so many partners and neighbors came out to watch her get her transmitter.

This paparazzi of volunteers treated this female curlew like a glamorous movie star! And rightfully so, as she was an absolute beauty.

Often times, we are extremely lucky to have help from local ranchers and landowners on trap days- it brings a great energy and sense of community when community members can join in and be an integral part of our efforts for curlew conservation!

In the late summer of 2017 Star migrated down to the Baja peninsula and gave us excellent data on the movement patterns of curlews that winter in coastal bays. However, shortly after returning to the ranch in Wyoming, her transmitter stopped giving out a signal. After long months of waiting, the rancher ended up finding her transmitter just below a power pole, with what appeared to be talon or tooth marks on the casing. Although we’ll never know, this leads us to believe that Star was eaten by some kind of raptor species.