Date: 7/5/26 8:22 am From: RoserComeau via groups.io <80comros...> Subject: [slocobirding] Welcome back, Dozer!
A big congratulations to Anne Marie Bergen for spotting and photographing
our celebrity Long-billed Curlew, MV Dozer, at Morro Strand State Beach on
July 3rd. For those new to the SLOCO Birding Group, here's some background:
· Dozer was banded and fitted with a satellite transmitter by the
Intermountain Bird Observatory in May 2020, at his breeding grounds in
Indian Valley in Idaho's West Central Mountains.
· Local birder Petra Clayton first spotted Dozer on Sunday, June 21,
2020, at Morro Strand State Beach. This marks his 6th non-breeding season
on the Central Coast, where he's frequently seen near Alva Paul on Morro
Strand. In 2025, the Tillmans spotted him on June 28th.
· On September 11, 2024, Dozer's transmitter went silent after he lost
part of the antenna on his "backpack" unit — a small piece of it is still
visible.
· Mimi, Dozer's mate, was banded in early May 2021 at Indian Valley,
ID. Her transmitter kept working until May 29, 2025, last signaling from an
agricultural field in Mexico (32.159160, -115.075530). Since the signal
hadn't moved since January, she's presumed deceased.
· Funding for the curlew monitoring program ended several years ago,
so we can't confirm whether Dozer has found a new mate or had a successful
breeding season this year. He's expected to stick around the Central Coast
until March, so keep an eye out — you might get lucky with a sighting of
our famous curlew! And even without funding, I still pass along Dozer
sightings to the researchers.
