Hello student eagle trackers;
Once again it’s time to check in with New York State’s bald eagles. As those of you who have been involved in Journey North may know, we have been capturing and radio-tagging wintering bald eagles as part of a bigger study along the Delaware River in southern New York. We want to know more about eagle habitat in this area of the state. Tracking the eagles will help us to know where they are so we can best protect these habitats along the river.
These satellite tagged birds can also give us a unique look beyond their winter visits to New York State. As student scientists, tracking the eagles with Journey North gives us a chance to learn more about eagle ecology, such as their movement pathways to and from New York, their summering/breeding grounds, and their arrival and departure dates.
Our tagged eagles have shown us where they have traveled for 2 or more full years. They are still transmitting, giving you and us the opportunity to see if past patterns are consistent, or if they will change this year; I’ll leave it to you to be the judge as they move north again shortly in 2009. Obviously you will have to do some homework to dig up the data on where they have previously summered, when they left NY in the spring and arrived in the fall, how long it has taken them to get back to their summering grounds, and other cool questions you might come up with!
Meantime, enjoy following our eagles, and keep that curiosity going!
Regards,
Eagleye
(Peter Nye,
Journey North Eagle Expert)
| This spring we will be tracking 4 adult eagles captured in New York State. | |
Three of these birds, U21, U25 and U27 have been tracked since 2006. The fourth, S28 was captured in January, 2008. What do our 4 eagles have in common? We believe that they all are winter visitors in New York State. Why do they come to New York? Where will they go this spring? Follow along with us this spring as their migration stories unfold.
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| The
Bald Eagle Migration Study Read this hands-on, introductory booklet about the Bald Eagle Migration project. Print and fold the booklet, or watch a slideshow version. Use your Bald Eagle Journal to record the important ideas.>> |
| Satellite Transmitters Give Us a Look at Fall Migration | |
The latest fall migration map shows where our 4 eagles were last fall, and when they each decided to head back south to their wintering grounds. How do the birds' migrations compare? How does the Fall 2007 migration compare to Fall 2008? Study the map archives to compare and contrast the two years >> |
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| Flash back to 1976. There is one pair of nesting bald eagles in the state, but no young birds. Each year the pair lays eggs and each year the eggs collapse during incubation. The egg shells are thinned by the DDT in their parents’ bodies. | |
Is it possible to re-build a bald eagle population when faced with this enormous environmental problem? This week learn about the creative programs that the Department of Environmental Conservation developed to bring back the bald eagle population over the past 30 years.
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 An eagle roosting. Credit: Jon McRay |
Scientists use a specialized language to describe their work. Their careful observations are filled with vocabulary that we share with you in each eagle update. How many new words did you read in today's update? Make a list in your Eagle Journal and add to it each time you read about eagles! * Here's our list. Did we miss any?>> |
Try illustrating the words! |
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| Record questions and observation notes in your Eagle Journal >> |
The Next Bald Eagle Migration Update Will Be Posted on February 11, 2009.
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