Bald
Eagle Migration Update: March 15, 2006
Today's
Report Includes:
Today's Map and Data
You will
find it easier this week to study individual eagles’ movements
on our maps. A new menu allows you to select each bird to view their
data positions, or you can view all eagles together on one map. Remember
to click on the data points to find location information (lat/long, date,
etc.).
Field Notes from Eagleye Nye
Hello Journey North
Well, another
week has now passed, and spring in definitely in the air, despite what
the calendar says. We had nearly 60 degrees and beautiful
sunshine this past Saturday, so I took out my kayak and checked on a
couple of nearby eagle nests; and sure enough, they were already sitting
on eggs! From other reports I've received from many of my top-notch eagle
nest monitors, many other pairs are already incubating as well. This
is seemingly a bit earlier than usual, but is not too surprising given
the very mild weather and general lack of snow and ice we've had here
all winter.
We have no additional capture news to share. Sarah, Kathy and I were
out one day last week. We almost captured a young adult, but no luck.
As I mentioned last week, trapping for winter migrants has now ended
and our attention is turned to our nest-monitoring work.
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U27
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Adult Eagles
On the migrant front, birds are moving (some anyway).
Starting with our adults, female _____________ moved north out of the
Chesapeake Bay this week, back into New York and not too far from where
we captured her. I expect she will not stay in this area too long, and
will continue her northward journey.
Female U21 made an interesting move, somewhat uncharacteristic for our
northward migrants. As you recall, she has been up along Lake Champlain
in NE New York, but this past week made a direct westerly move and is
now just south of our St. Lawrence River. Is she headed into Ontario
instead of Quebec?
Male P04 also made a north move, from his last location in southern NY
into our southern Adirondacks north of Albany; kind of a direct northward
movement, and again, one I expect will continue.
Our last two adults, V98 and U25 are the only two who didn't move, and
remain south in the Chesapeake Bay area. But, as you know from at least
V98's history, this won't last!
Immature Eagles
On the nestling front, these too are busy moving around, although there
seems to be no particular pattern. Y94, Y96 and P91 have moved around,
but P88, P89 and P90 seem content, at least for now, where they are.
I expect we will continue to see some interesting movements over the
next couple of weeks. I'm always particularly excited to see where
our "new" migrant
adults hail from.
Stay tuned! Eagleye
New York State Dept. Environmental
Conservation
Delmar, NY
Predicting
V98's Spring Migration
This year we will have a birds eye view of V98s migration for the 3rd
year in a row. When will she start her trip north to the summer nesting
grounds this year? Where will she nest?
Calling all predictions!
Try This!
Make
a table to show:
1) Dates V98 started migration in 2004 and 2005.
2) Location of summer nesting
site each year.
Fill in your predictions for Spring 2006. Then stay tuned
to see if you predicted the lucky numbers!
Can You Complete Pete's Sentence? Challenge Question #6
Which adult moved out of the Chesapeake Bay this week? Can you fill in
the blank?
Challenge Question #6:
Starting with our adults, _________ moved north out of the Chesapeake
Bay this week, back into New York and not too far from where we
captured her. I expect she will not stay in this area too long, and
continue
her northward journey.
To respond to this question, please follow
these instructions.
Winter Home on the Range
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What
winter habitat is essential for Bald eagles? credit
Hugh Feiro
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All of our Bald eagles have one thing in common. They have all spent
part of their lives in New York state. Each bird appears to have
a defined range. Knowing about their winter habitats is of vital
importance to protecting the New York wintering eagle population.
Use this lesson in your classroom. Identify the critical habitats of
each eagle by studying maps and data of their locations.
Spring Migration and Weather
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courtesy of Laura Erickson |
Many factors come together to influence eagle migration. When an eagle
decides it is time to go, they really move. But what drives this
northward migration? Learn new facts about this interesting topic!
Find more about weather and migration
straight from Peter Nye. Then answer our challenge:
Challenge
Question #7:
” Do migrating eagles travel during the daylight or under cover of darkness?
Explain why.”
To
respond to this question, please follow these instructions.
Migration
vs. "Seasonal
Movements"
Pete Nye helps us understand more about eagle migrations.
He explains, “Some biologists do not consider or
characterize Bald eagles as true "migrants," preferring
to describe their movements away from and back toward
their breeding territories as seasonal movements. This
is because almost all Bald eagles only move away from
their nesting areas as far as they need to for survival.” ”Eagles
like the ones we are studying that overwinter in New
York State, have to leave their
nesting areas because
they totally freeze up in winter and the birds cannot find
enough food to survive.”
The severity of winter weather affects the migration. He
continues, “In a very mild year, an eagle that usually
moves 1000 miles down to New York to winter from Labrador
Province, may only need to move 400 miles to the St. Lawrence
River, if they find open water and food available there.
So, keep in mind that bald eagles are not necessarily fixed ‘migrants’ like
many other species of birds; they move based upon other
cues not related to food availability.”
Discussion of Challenge Question #4
" Looking over the data, not much interesting
movement to report, except perhaps for adult female ___,
who made quite a southern movement this week. It will
be interesting to see how long she stays down there."
Students from MN to NY were eager to fill
in the blank. “We
think the eagle that moved south is U25. We know it is
a female and saw that she moved far south this week,” wrote
students from Nanuet, NY.
Exactly! If you look closely at the data you will find that female U25 was
located at (41.85, -73.95) on 02/18/06, and by 02/24/06 she had moved south
(39.36, -76.03).
Great map work!
Watch for answers from our Bald Eagle Expert coming Friday!
The
Next Bald Eagle Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 15, 2006.
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1997-2006 Journey
North. All Rights Reserved.
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