Exciting news just in from New York biologist Peter Nye:
"Just captured a big, beautiful, adult, female bald eagle and she is now sporting lots of gear including a satellite radio and wing tag #32. Caught her on Monday the 19th at my old standby site. I was getting nervous we might not have a bird for the kids, so spent the day at our proven site. Got to run. More later."
Regards, Eagleye Nye
Peter E. Nye
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Endangered Species Unit
Wildlife Resources Center
Delmar, NY 12054
Data for Eagle 32
Date........ Latitude 1, Longitude 1 OR Latitude 2 , Longitude 2
02/19/96...41.531 N, 74.858 W OR 40.037 N, 82.693 W
02/22/96...41.607 N, 74.827 W OR 34.575N, 40.595W
Here are the first readings from our eagle. Remember, the satellite always gives the scientist two sets of data. You must figure out which set is accurate just as the scientist must. As soon as you locate our eagle on a map, see if you can answer this Challenge Question:
Challenge Question #16:
"What town was our eagle near on February 19th and where do you think she might be fishing?" To respond to this Challenge Question, please follow the instructions at the end of this report.
How to Locate the Eagle
These instructions should be helpful if you've had trouble mapping the latitude and longitude coordinates of satellite-tracked species. With the use of a transparency, you can write on top of you map as you home in on the eagle's exact location. This example is written for a map on which the latitude and longitude lines are one degree apart. (That is, the map shows 41 N, 42 N, 43 N and 74W, 75 W, 76 W and so on.) However, these instructions can be adapted easily for maps with different scales.
Materials Needed
Transparency
2 markers (Vis a Vis) , 1 red and 1 blue
Map of North America (marked with latitude and longitude)
Road atlas or other detailed map of the state or province where this
bird is located.
To Find the Eagle's Latitude:
1. Put a transparency on top of your map.
2. Draw a line with a red marker along the latitude line to the south of the eagle (41 degrees N).
3. Measure the distance between 41 N and 42 N in mm . (On our map the distance is 56 mm. This means the scale on our map is 56 mm per degree latitude.)
4. Since the eagle's latitude is 41.531 N, the bird is .531 of a degree north of 41 N. On our map this distance is .531 of 56 mm or 29.7 mm. (.531 x 56 = 29.7)
5. Draw a latitude line at 41.531 N. To do this, make two points that are .531 degrees north of the 41 N latitude line. (On our map the points are drawn 29.7 mm north of 41 N.) Connect the two points to make a line. The eagle is somewhere along this latitude line. Now you need to find her longitude.
To Find Eagle's Longitude:
1. Keep the transparency on top of your map, lined up along the 41N parallel.
2. Draw a line with your blue marker along the longitude line to the east of the eagle (74 degrees W).
3. Measure the distance between 74 W and 75 W in mm . (On our map the distance is 41 mm. This means the scale of our map is 41 mm per degree longitude.)
4. Since the eagle's longitude is 74.858 W, the bird is .858 of a degree west of 74 W. On our map this distance is .858 of 41 mm or 35.178 mm (.858 x 41 = 35.178).
5. Draw a line that is 74.858 W. To do this, make two points that are .858 degrees west of the 74 W longitude line. (On our map the points are drawn 35.178 mm west of 74 W.) Connect these two points to make a line.
The eagle is located at the place where these two lines intersect!
How to Respond to Journey North Challenge Question #16:
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of the message write: Challenge Question #16.
3. In the body of the message, give your school's name and location and answer this question:
"What town was our eagle near on February 19th and where do you think she might be fishing?"
We'll share your ideas and those of other students in future reports. You can also see students' answers to Challenge Questions on Journey North's WWW site.
The Next Bald Eagle Migration Update Will be Posted on March 4, 1996
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