"Dear Students,
"As you'll see below, our eagle hung out at the April 10 spot (48.981 N, 68.798 W) for a few days, and then moved about 50 miles north to the 4/14 & 4/16 locations. By April 22nd she had made a straight jump north and is now near Labrador City!! Notice that the longitude readings are along a north/south line. Where do you think she'll finally stop??"
"I understand you've been learning how weather affects songbird migration. Generally, I would have to say that eagles are nowhere near as weather dependent for movement as are songbirds. Songbirds (and most other birds) migrate differently than eagles and other raptors. Raptors migrate by soaring-gliding flight rather than by flapping-flying flight as in other birds. This obviously conserves tremendous amounts of energy, but also indicates that weather conditions for the two groups are different in terms of what is best for their migration movements. Any fronts or weather conditions that provide strong uplifting winds and thermals to facilitate soaring, combined with strong tailwinds, are ideal for eagles.
"Eagles are not considered typical 'migratory' birds in the sense that they move only if they have to, and then only far enough to get what they need (i.e. food). The primary cues for movements of eagles are a lack of food (or inability to get it, due to ice-cover for example) in the fall. Early winter and spring migration is triggered by length of daylight at those times of year."
Regards,
Eagle Eye Nye
Date Location April 14 49.280 N, 68.386 W April 16 50.018 N, 68.143 W April 22 52.230 N, 67.372 W
Guess the Nest
Last call for guesses! Take a look of a good map of Quebec and Labrador and see if you can guess where our eagle's nest might be. Send your guess to:
Ask the Expert
Due to spring break we are extending the Ask the Expert deadline for eagles. You may send your questions about eagles for Peter Nye any time before May 10th to:
Eagle Report From Alaska
"People traveled to the mountains from my village of Kaktovik. It's 60 miles to the Iggich mountains. The temperature was about 57 or 60 above in the mountains and it was 0 here in the village. Aaglu caught 45 to her mom's 25 trout from the Hula Hula River. People that traveled to the Iggich mountains reported seeing bald eagles in the mountains April 14-16th." Ebuk Chandler, Kaveolook School Kaktovik, Alaska Barter Island, Beaufort Sea\Arctic Ocean Global location (Lat. 70.12 Long. 143.4) eachandler@arctic.nsbsd.k12.ak.us
Bald Eagles in Wisconsin "While I was in Wisconsin over spring break (April 10-16), we visited a wildlife refuge in Kaukauna called 1000 Islands. Kaukauna Wisconsin is on the Fox River just between Appleton and Green Bay. We saw an eagle in her nest. Other birdwatchers said that the eagle had just returned. Thought you would like to know." George Rota george_rota@hopkins.k12.mn.us
Students respond to CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:
Q. Quelle langue esqu'on parle ou notre oiseau est maintenant? (April 10th)
A. Hi, We are grade 7 students from Inuvik NT Canada. We have the answer to the eagle challenge question. The eagle is in Quebec and speaks french. From Tina, Daniel, and Dwayne and teacher Wendy Brewster. wendyb@gov.nt.ca (See if you can find Inuvik on a map!)
Q. There are 4 major flyways in the continental U.S. Can you name the other three?
A. They are the Pacific Flyway, Central Flyway and the Atlantic Flyway.
Q. Why didn't our satellite-tracked eagle begin to migrate until the end of March, while eagles on the upper Mississippi Refuge were already nesting at that time? A. Maybe it was too cold for her to travel. Maybe she has enough food where she stays and maybe she likes where she lives. Ebuk Chandler, Kaveolook School Kaktovik, Alaska Barter Island, Beaufort Sea\Arctic Ocean Global location (Lat. 70.12 Long. 143.4) eachandler@arctic.nsbsd.k12.ak.us
Great answers, Ebuk. Peter Nye also said in late March that the fact that our eagle hadn't moved when other eagles had might indicate that she would hed FAR NORTH to nest. He suspected she would go to Labrador, and now she seems headed there!
The Bald Eagle
The bald eagle has a very wide wing span. The bald eagle also is huge in size. It swoops down and catches animals for its food. Its large sharp beak grabs and tears its prey. The bald eagle is famous for its great sense of sight. It usually eats about a pound of food a day of fish, rats, rabbits, and salmon. The bald eagle is still a threatened species.
From: Mr. Dykes' 7th grade Science Class Maplewood Middle School, Maplewood, Minnesota dyke0002@maroon.tc.umn.edu
Journey North 125 North First Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Phone: (612)339-6959