Greetings from our Eagle Biologist,
Pete "Eagle-eye" Nye
Greetings Journey North Kids, and Welcome to Eagle Tracking 2007!
It's hard
to believe another year has sped by so fast, but it is great to be
back in cyber-space with Journey North and all
of you as we continue
to try to understand how eagles move and why. Here in New York State,
in Eastern North America, we have been studying bald eagle ecology for
three
decades now.
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Three
Decades Studying Bald Eagle Ecology
Though our
study focus has changed over this time, the information we have gleaned
always seems to "connect." It's been
helping us to understand the overall biology of bald eagles and how
they live.
This helps us to do our job protecting them and their habitats
so you and your children (which you will someday have) can enjoy them
for many, many years.
Ok, on to the nitty-gritty of our recent work and what you can expect in 2007. We continue to monitor both breeding and wintering bald eagles in New York. We are coming off a record breeding year here this past summer 2006. We had the largest number of fledglings ever recorded here — 172 eaglets from 112 nests. I encourage you to read more about this in our complete 2006 report.
Let's look at why this occurred and how this relates to this winter’s migration story which you are now entering.
Warm Winter
and Spring
Our
2005-06 winter and early spring 2006 were significantly more mild and
warmer than usual, with little precipitation. This meant that breeding
eagles,
especially the females, went through last winter without a lot of stress.
They came into the spring breeding season in excellent condition. Also,
a high percentage of all the eggs laid by our 2006 breeders hatched.
This was due to the mild, favorable conditions. In addition,
guess what the weather
conditions here were like going into the 2006-07 winter season? Yup,
extremely mild and warmer than usual. Matter of fact, according to
the Associated
Press, 2006 was the "warmest on record for the United States",
and the "sixth warmest worldwide". That is pretty incredible.
And that was just the 2006 data; records are being broken now, it seems,
every year.
Why?
You
be the judge, but from where I sit, global warming is alive and well.
Think about how this might affect all kinds of animals
and why. Then get specific and think how else this might affect
the
wintering eagles we all study. I won't spill the beans just yet,
but we've already
seen some effects with the birds you will be studying.
Introducing...2007
Bald Eagles
Without
further delay, let me reintroduce the bald eagles we will be keying-in
on this
season.
- Meet the Eagles >>
We will start by tracking four adult, female bald eagles. These birds were all captured along the Upper Delaware River in southeast New York. All of them were also tracked in Journey North last year.
Later in the season we may add some of the youngsters we are also following via satellite telemetry.
PO4 Now "Off-line"
We
also tracked adult male P04 last year, who traveled to his suspected
breeding location on the Labrador/Quebec border last
summer. His radio
continues to transmit signals, but still from the same location in Labrador.
We consider him "off-line," likely dead, since he is
not moving, and the radio still functioning. So, P04 won't be joining us
this winter.
Learn About
Essential Habitats*
Finally, just a few words about our current study, started last year.
The primary objective of our Upper Delaware River Bald Eagle Study is to
determine the essential habitats used by bald eagles along this river corridor.
The river forms the boundary between New York State and Pennsylvania, and
covers approximately 72 miles in length. To help determine what these special
habitats are, we are heavily involved in radio telemetry. We use both conventional
radios — which
we must follow on the ground (vhf), and satellite radios which will give
us the data through the satellites and into our computers.
While conducting this study, we will undoubtedly capture some migrant eagles
that use the river, like all four above that we will be tracking this
winter. There is a good possibiliy that we will add them to the satellite-tracked
eagle group as our work continues through the winter.
Our team this year includes John Brennan, Glenn Hewitt, Kathy Michell, Kathy Maloney, and Scott VanArsdale. I think it is going to be a busy and exciting year, so fasten your seat belts and get ready to do some thinking!
Regards, Eagleye
Peter E. Nye, Leader
Endangered Species Unit
Wildlife Diversity Group
NYSDEC
* Essential
Habitat: area
or environment where conditions provide for an animal's survival
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