Michigan’s osprey population faces threats from pesticides, habitat loss and the effects of DDT. In an effort to conserve the species, monitoring efforts are in place in the south of the state to track the species.

Four osprey chicks in the area were recently fitted with special GPS tracking “backpacks”. Michigan Osprey member Barb Jensen, Lou Waldock, DTE Energy and Huron Valley Audubon gave their financial backing to the project. The special backpacks help experts keep track of the seasonal migration patterns and daily movements of the young birds.

The chicks began their lives on platforms at Kensington Metropark, Milford, Michigan State University’s Lux Arbor Reserve, Delton and on Fletcher’s Pond close to Alpena. It’s hoped that the project will provide the Michigan Department of Natural Resources with migration route information. They will also be able to investigate any dangers the ospreys face during that time.

The great horned owl is a natural predator of the osprey. A matter of days after one of the chicks was first fitted with the GPS tracking device, it fell prey to what scientists believe to be a great horned owl.

As many as 60 percent of osprey chicks that hatch annually don’t reach the age of two. Mortality factors commonly include the shooting of birds in Latin America, weather, predation and collisions with buildings and other structures.

One chick who was fitted with a backpack in 2014 made its return to the Midwest in 2016. Ozzie began her life at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area. She went on to spend two winter seasons in Columbia and flew back to the U.S to spend the summer in West Virginia.

In 1998, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources relocated ospreys to the south of the state. They relocated chicks from northern Michigan nests and placed them in man-made towers in the south. In 2016, there were 60 nests in southern Michigan, a huge increase from the one active solitary active nest in 2002.

More details on the project are available at the Michigan Osprey website – www.michiganosprey.org.  You can view flight routes by moving the cursor to check time and date information and GPS coordinates for each leg of the bird’s journey. The ospreys will begin their next migration in early to mid- September.

GPS tracking is highly beneficial for granite countertop installers in more ways than you might realize. These are just a few of the ways GPS fleet tracking can benefit your business.

Track Valuable Granite

GPS fleet tracking isn’t only good for keeping up your vehicles or mapping out your routes for the day. Granite countertops are high value items that are greatly in demand these days. The more valuable the granite countertops on your trucks happen to be, the greater the odds that someone, along the way will try to abscond with one or more of these valuable slabs of granite. With GPS fleet tracking you can track the granite in real time so you can help law enforcement quickly locate and retrieve the granite that was taken from you.

Track Tools

In addition to tracking granite for your business, you can also use GPS fleet tracking to help you keep track of the necessary tools for your business. Some of them can be quite expensive and whether workers accidentally leave with them on their belts at the end of the day or others walk off with them intending to use or sell them, you will be able to locate and retrieve your expensive countertop installation tools – a process far less costly than replacing them.

Provide  Proof of Service

Because GPS fleet tracking can be used to locate your vehicles’ exact GPS coordinates (and record them) you have proof of how long your workers spent on various job sites – which can be instrumental in standing your ground and proving your point if customers ever raise questions about your hourly billing.

Keep Laborers Honest

Another, often unintended, benefit of GPS fleet tracking is that it encourages your laborers to stay on task and complete their jobs in a timely manner. Because you can track the whereabouts of all your laborers and know exactly how long people are spending on their assigned tasks, laborers have added incentive to not be the last one to finish assignments on any given day.

While you don’t want them to work too fast and compromise the integrity of the work they are doing, you also want your laborers motivated to get the job done. GPS fleet tracking provides an unspoken level of competition among the men working for you to never be last.

Whether you are looking to protect your equipment, the merchandise you provide, prove your service, or protect your income, GPS fleet tracking can help. It goes so much further than planning efficient routes and saving fuel. So, why haven’t you made the leap for your granite countertop installation business?

To learn more about how GPS fleet tracking can benefit your granite countertop installation business, give us a call here at LiveViewGPS at 1-888-544-0494.

Thanks to GPS tracking technology, the University of Northern Colorado police arrested three people in connection with a string of campus bike thefts.

Officers believe the suspects tried to steal a decoy bike on campus that police planted on a bike rack. According to reports, the bike had a GPS tracking device installed on it inside the seat.

According to arrest affidavits, police made the first arrest in April. The GPS tracker installed in the bike alerted officers around 10 a.m. that the bike was on the move. Police found the suspect riding the bike between 4th and 5th avenues in the 2000 block alley after following the GPS signals. They continued to follow the suspect and eventually located the bike parked in front of a 5th Ave home. Police found and arrested the suspect on possession of burglary tools and suspicion of theft.

After the officers spoke with him later, he told them that his bike was too small for him so he was looking for a bigger bike. He said he thought the bike would be easy to steal since it was locked to the rack with an inexpensive, thin cable lock which he could cut through easily with wire cutters.

This is how many bike thieves think, according to the UNC Police Chief who estimates that around 90 percent of the bike thefts handled by his department were locked to the rack with cheap cable locks.

He admits they are easy to cut through.

Thursday afternoon, the UNC police arrested two more suspects who rode off with the bait bike, again according to arrest affidavits. And again, the police locked the bike equipped with the GPS device up with an inexpensive cable lock.

Police arrested the man and woman around 4:45 p.m. after they watch the two of them approach the bike, cut the lock and ride the bike away to the north.

Police found the suspects north of campus, arrested them and searched through one of the suspect’s backpack finding a machete knife, glass pipe, a couple bags of prescription pills and a loaf of bread.

Police arrested both suspects on possession of burglary tools and suspicion of theft. The suspect with the backpack may be looking at additional charges for possession of prescription drugs.

Officers don’t think there were any connections between the two different theft cases. The end of the school year brings on more thefts, says the UNC Police Chief. He said since students are moving out, keeping track of their possessions can get difficult and as the semester ends, it’s easier for thieves to commit the crime without getting caught since there are fewer crowds on campus.

He also confirmed they will use bait bikes installed with GPS tracking technology at least until the school year ends.