Bald Eagle Migration Update: February 22, 2006

Today's Report Includes:

• This Week's Bald Eagle Tracking Map and Data
• Field Notes from Peter Nye
• Map Quest: Challenge Question #3
• Ask the Expert Now Open!

This week's eagle map.

• This Week's Migration Data
  (in a printer-friendly format)

Tracking with your own map? Use your Bald Eagle Journal and map each week.

Hello again Journey North:

Scott VanArsdale and Kathy Maloney with T18

Not a very exciting week for Kathy, Sarah and me trapping; no luck again and just too darn nice again, as last week. Both Wednesday and Thursday (the day we trapped), temps reached into the 60's here and much sunshine. I think eagles have other things on their minds right now, and certainly are not food stressed.

Scott and Kathy Maloney, on the other hand, had good luck with their trapping this week, capturing one of our young adults along the northern portion of our Delaware River. However, this eagle was already banded (one I banded as a nestling in 2001 from one of our nearby nests). T18 is a female just coming into sexual maturity. Scott and Kathy did place a local/vhf radio transmitter on her to be able to track her this spring, again, hopefully to a nest.

Why wouldn’t this bird be a candidate for a satellite radio?

I will be on vacation snowboarding in Vermont with my family all this week, but my crew, including Mike Clark, Kathy Michell and Sarah Shute, will be out trapping again on 22 Feb., so I hope they have good news when I return!

News About our Birds

V98 continues to reside in what is apparently her "usual" wintering ground (I asked you to learn more about this area). Did you find anything out about this area? Once you do, you might want to dig even further and see exactly what is in the area where V98 frequents (hint: look up Aberdeen Proving Grounds). What do you think of this area? Do you think it is a good refuge? Or does it come with some potential hazards?

P04 is the only one of our birds currently hanging around any where near our usual capture/wintering area.
U21 must have gotten spring fever those few beautiful days; why?
U25 also made a big move to the NE, and now appears to be just east of our Hudson River. How far away is this from where she was last week?
U27 appears to like the same area as V98.

Our Immature Eagles
Y94 is not far from her "home" (can you locate the nest she fledged from in 2004?). She made a pretty big move over the last week, heading north from the Chesapeake Bay area back to her home territory in Sullivan County.
Y96 also made a move during the week, but this bird headed south, back to very near her natal territory. I wonder how long they will stay around these natal areas?
P88 remains content (I presume!) in the western Connecticut area.
Ditto for nestlings P89, P90 and P91, who appear to be in the same general areas as last week. Do you think that at some point, these 2005 nestlings will return to their natal areas? Why? When?

Well kids, that's all for now; see you next week!

Best wishes,

Eagleye
New York State Dept. Environmental Conservation
Delmar, NY

A Close-Up View of the Chesapeake Bay Area

Examine the enlarged map of the Chesapeake Bay area. Which of our satellite tracked eagles are found in this area? Eagleye mentions the Aberdeen Proving Grounds up in the north end of the bay.

Find information about it to answer this:

Challenge Question #3:
“ What is the Aberdeen Proving Grounds? Do you think this would be a safe refuge? What hazards could there be for eagles?”

To respond to this question, please follow these instructions.

Eagle Expert "Eagleye" Nye and P04 with PTT.

• Ask the Expert Information