By Peter Nye, assisted by Mike Clark and Sarah Shute.
U27, an adult female, was captured on the Delaware River February 1, 2006.
Peter Nye describes the day:
"The first day of February turned out to be a good one for Kathy, Sarah, Mike Clark and me, though it started out looking very unpromising. Each trap day, we are all set up and ready to go before dawn, by about 0600h. Our first eagles usually show up just after 0700h, as they leave the roost, and then fly a bit and perch nearby before getting to feeding by 0900 or 1000 each day. This day, however, we sat for 3 hours, until 0900, before we even saw our first eagle; the day seemed very quiet and it appeared very few eagles were around.
"However, as often happens, first one, then several, immatures started showing up. Eventually, one perched near our bait, and after more than 45 minutes, finally came down and began feeding. This is what we want, since if one eagle begins feeding on a carcass, soon they attract more, even if we have never seen other birds in the area. And, this is exactly what happened this day. Soon, several more immatures showed up and began feeding and jockying for postion at the carcass. As I'm sure you have guessed by now, this attracted U27's attention, and after about 90 minutes of the immatures feeding, U27 came down and did the same. Fortunately, all of our shots have been accurate and successful, including this one. This is not always the case; wind and other issues come up that can throw a monkey wrench into the works, so we feel very lucky."
 |
 |
 |
Mike
Clark with U27, just before releasing her.
|
U27.
How many words can you think of to describe this bird?
|
U27,
adult female, and Sarah Shute (Whose head is bigger!?).
|
Read more about how biologists prepare birds that are banded and fitted with satellite transmitters.
© 1997 – 2024 Journey North. All rights reserved.
