My Field Notes March 5, 2003 Eagle Trapping by Elizabeth Howard 4:50: Arrive at Mongaup Reservoir, where 12,000 acres of over-wintering eagle habitat is protected by New York State. The land was purchased in 1990 for $15 million. Pete was closely involved and counts this as perhaps his greatest career satisfaction. 6:00 am All is set. Coyotes & turkeys calling at dawn.We drove to across the dam to the opposite shore from the trapping area and sat waiting for first eagles. Pete says eagles using the area now are probably just moving through from other states. (This reminds me of importance of Mongaup habitat to migratory eagles, not just those over-wintering.) Their behavior is not like that of over-wintering birds, who know the bait station routine and come in quickly after the cros. Where there were up to 100 eagles in mid-winter, there will now be 15 one day, 1 the next, etc. "This late in the season, hormones are going and the eagles just want to get going," says Pete. 6:15 am First crows calling. Some 100 crows feast on the bait each day. One crow keep guard as "sentinel" and waits to alert the group of approaching danger. Pete and Kathy showed me the branch where the sentinel sits, about 100 yards away from the bait. A raven flies over, Pete and Kathy point out how raven flight differs from that of crows. Ravens glide much more often. 6:40 am First immature eagle appears. flew up from the roost downstream at 6:40. It headed directly toward the bait. But instead of landing, it rose up to the branch of a tall pine on shore beyond. "True to form," noted Pete. "They're always loafing, wary, and only go to the bait when they're REALLY sure it's safe." I asked PeteConsidering an eagle's size, isn't it odd they're so wary? It's suprising to me that crows are so much more brave. Good questions, he replied. We discussed possible pressures in eagle's evolutionary history. Maybe influenced by the Native Americans, but that's recent history...no answers, fun to hypothesize. 6:45 No crows on bait yet. 6:55 Adult eagle moves into trees. The overnight roost is downriver, in a lower area, well protected from the wind. The bait station was put in an area where eagles had traditionally liked to loaf, so maybe not surprising that they come to visit first thing in the morning. 7:07 Crows down on ice, far away from carcass. 7:11 A second immature arrived, and displaced the first from the branch of the pine. "Given the whole shoreline, one will fly right toward the other an displace it," said Nye about this display of dominance. 7:18 One, two then three immatures ("immies") arrive. "Eagles always feed better when weather like this (cloudy). They may sense the barometer falling and bad weather approaching. They don't feed well at all on sunny days." 7:20 Count: 5 immature, 1 adult. (6 birds total) "The crows are giving a good show. That's great." 7:26 6th immie arrived, landed in the same area. 7:32 7th immie. Nye notes plumage and says it's a sub-adult, 4 years old. 7:35 8th immie, very white bird that Kathy recognizes. 7:35 Count: 8 immatures, 1 adult, 1 subadult (10 birds total) Nye says the single adult would be most likely a migrant and northern nester, since local New York birds are already beginning to nest. Seen decorating with vegetation. On the other hand, the adult could be nesting here in the refuge because there are 4 nests. Looking carefully for leg bands to determine of a local bird. Kathy talks about bald eagle flight, after observing juveniles flying in a tumble. "If you watch them on a windy day, it's easy to see the skills of adult eagles compared to immatures. You can really see differences in flying skills. The adults can manuever anything. First yar birds are really clumsy. It takes awhile to learn to fly well." 7:55 Pete says, "I think we should get an eagle on the bait any time, with all those ccros down there." 8:05 Suddenly fog rolls in. "He just went into the soup. I lost him," says Pete about a juvenile we say fly past the truck. Discussion turns to how fog may change our day. "Sometimes chickadees even come to the deer carcass," says Kathy. "They like the fat." Crows are good at tearing off the flesh. Last year, bears came and took carcasses away. By the beginning of April, the eagles will be gone from Mongaup. Most adults are gone now, mostly immatures here.We talk about Nye's dispersal study, which investigated where immature eagles from New York established territories. "They went all over, including Alabama," he noted. 8:10 Can still see little black soldiers on the bait (crows), but fog is getting thick. "You'd think it would be easy to just throw out food and here they'd come, but it's not that easy. We sometimes wait all day, thinking at the end of the day that they must be hungry. We're strung 2-3 days of trapping together and still they wouldn't feed. They can go a week or more without food. I'm convinced," said Pete. We talked about human disturbance on the Reservoir. "Jet skis are just the kind of activity that distrubs eagles most. The movement is erratic, close to shore, unpredictable, and loud. (Less disturbing are regular, predictable movements like a passing train.)" said Pete. New York state now has a law that gives individual towns control over jet skis. Pete is frequently called on to lobby, and explain why jet ski activity disturbs eagles. Crows teasing eagles is common, but eagles dominate when they want to. "Once I saw a crow bugging an eagle, pulling its tail feathers. The eagle had evidently had enough. It turned around, bit off the crow's head, and ate it," said Kathy. Kathy and Pete discussed the flight of golden and bald eagles, after Kathy thought she was watching a golden fly over. Goldens can corner tightly, they're very maneuverable, much more of a hunter. Not a surprise considering their prey is upland game such as rabbits, turkeys, ground squirrels, etc. In contrast, eagles "swoosh" down for fish. 9:00 It's so foggy we can no longer see the bait. We move back across the dam, not more than 100 yards from the eagle. (Beside the sentinel crow, in fact, who seems to have decided we're not of concern and remains on his perch.) 9:45 It's still foggy. Can only see one eagle, usually binoculars are needed. He fades in a out of view as the fog moves. "The more you think you know about eagles, they'll show you what you don't know," says Pete. The hungrier I feel, the more sure I am the eagles will come down off the branches to feed! It's still morning and we're already into the sandwhiches. I"m surprised every time I look at the clock, it feels much later because we got up so early. "Deer are suddenly getting easier to find," says Kathy. "Unfortunately, with the warmer weather theyr'e coming out of the woods to eat grass along the sides of the road where the snow has melted. More are getting hit by cars." I'm reminded as we wait that we're like predators, and have to be as patient as predators must. Copyright 2003 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form