Former DC resident got to Cuba, not heard from lately

Former DC resident got to Cuba, not heard from lately
By Martin Weil February 18 at 12:13 AM

In the latest report on the travels of Parker, the National Zoo
disclosed that when last heard from, the former Washington resident
appeared to be in Cuba.

Parker, it seems, went by air, without paying a fare, saying farewell or
filling out the usual forms. No stowaway, however, Parker was only
heeding instinct. Parker is a bird and is part of a migration study
project. "Our first Cuba bird," the zoo said this month in an update on
the project.

Parker — one of the black-crowned night herons that breed at the zoo —
was fitted in June with a sun-powered satellite transmitter, to allow
the zoo to track the bird's location.

Until Sept. 10, Parker stayed near the zoo. Then, the bird was off-- to
Charleston, S.C., Jacksonville Fla., and points south.

The last signal from Florida came Sept. 22. Three hours later, the zoo
said, a transmission was sent from Cuba. Parker's transmitter last sent
a signal Nov. 16, from a swampy area in Cuba.

Perhaps, the zoo said, the silence is a result of swamp foliage blocking
the sun and keeping the transmitter battery from recharging.

As the spring migration approaches, the zoo said in its Feb. 10 update,
it hoped to hear again from Parker.

Source: Former DC resident got to Cuba, not heard from lately - The
Washington Post -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/colorful-dc-resident-got-to-cuba-not-heard-from-lately/2017/02/18/ebd9a678-f597-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html?utm_term=.3f922b7ae11f