About the Bald Eagle Migration Study (Back to Bald Eagle Home Page) Background Peter Nye of New York State New York Department of Environmental Conservation For the seventh season in a row, New York biologist Peter Nye will share satellite telemetry data with students as he tracks bald eagles back to their nests in Canada. Students will participate in an on-line guessing contest and predict the location of each eagle's nest. To guide their guess they'll analyze satellite data collected during the springs of 1994-1999. Data on these birds will provide students with a great opportunity to compare and contrast the migrations of individual eagles. Students can research the eagle's diet, Canada's climate, review previous year's data--and then estimate when the eagles will head back north. They can also explore how weather systems affect each eagle's journey, through real-time weather data. Nye believes the timing of an eagle's departure from New York is a clue to its ultimate destination. The further north the eagle's nest, he theorizes, the later it leaves New York. This suggests the eagle has an incredible sense of timing. Which eagles do you suppose will migrate first? Recently removed from the endangered species list, the eagle's recovery is a conservation success story. Students will learn about DDT in the food chain and analyze eagle population statistics during the years of its recovery. New research, however, suggests other chemicals in the environment may now be threatening eagles. Nye's work in New York is presently measuring levels of such chemicals. Thus, while conservation challenges continue to confront eagles, past lessons have made scientists and citizens more watchful. Copyright 2000 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form