"Hello, my name is Carol Damberg! I work for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Winona, Minnesota as a Refuge Biologist for the "Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge". We're located along the Mississippi in the very southeast corner of Minnesota. Approximately 220,000 acres are protected in this Refuge and most of the land is in the floodplain of the Mississippi.
"On March 22nd we flew over the Refuge to see how many of our eagle nests were occupied. Things are looking up for bald eagles. The nesting population of eagles on the Mississippi River continues to increase every year. In 1986, we had only 8 active nests on the entire refuge and last year we had 42. On the 22nd approximately 43 nests were occupied.
"The eagles started to return to their nests in last February and early March. We had several pairs which returned very early, late January and early February! At the moment the eagles are incubating their eggs and soon (just 1-2 weeks from now) the chicks will hatch out. In fact, have probably hatched already.
Yesterday we drove along the Mississippi to McGregor, Iowa and saw that spring migration is well on its way. We saw lots of shovelers, lesser scaup, coots and mallards. Other species we observed were blue-winged teal, American widgeon, buffleheads, common mergansers, great blue herons, common egrets, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks and kestrels. Many of these birds will migrate to Canada to breed. The herons and egrets will likely breed on the Refuge. (We have 15 heron rookeries.)
Well, I must leave. I hope to send more information about migration along the Mississippi in the near future."
Discussion of Previous CHALLENGE QUESTION: We posted bald eagle sightings from students in March and asked you to see what they might have in common. Tristin Jordan of Buffalo, New York was correct to notice that they were all traveling near water, as he explains below.
Of the 9 eagle sightings that were reported, 7 were in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, in the Mississippi River watershed. Scientists think the Mississippi is like a highway for migration, providing a path animals can follow from the south to the north. If you look on a U.S. map you can trace it for 2,300 miles! The Mississippi provides critical habitat for animals that need open water, wetlands and forests during migration. This is especially true for ducks and other waterfowl. Almost 75% of North America's migratory waterfowl winter in the Gulf of Mexico and nearby waters, and many return along the Mississippi River each spring.
CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:
1) There are 4 major flyways in the continental U.S. Can you name the other 3?
2) Why didn't our satellite-tracked eagle begun to migrate until the end of March, while eagles on the Upper Mississippi Refuge were already nesting at that time?
Answer to Previous CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:
From NEW YORK: Q. What do you notice about the geographical location of many of the places the eagles were seen? A. They're there because it's nearby water there. Q. Why do you think eagles were sighted where they were? A. They are there because there are fish there, and bald eagles are fish eaters. Their favorite fish is salmon.
Tristan Jordan, Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School Buffalo, NY tjordan@gateway.drew.buffalo.k12.ny.us
Journey North 125 North First Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Phone: (612)339-6959