Written by Bryan Watts and Elizabeth Mojica
July 15, 2010
Eagle named “Turner” with satellite transmitter sits in a bald cypress nest. Photo by Bryan Watts.
In May of 2010, Bryan Watts and Libby Mojica traveled to the far western corner of Kentucky to help the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources deploy satellite transmitters on two eaglets. The department monitors active nests within the area and has been interested in eagle use and movements within the Mississippi watershed for some time. The field effort was lead by Kate Heyden with assistance from Ben Leffew and Rob Colvis. The teams met up on Ballard Wildlife Management Area. The management area is a spectacular property with extensive floodplain forest. Two broods were chosen for banding and transmitter deployment including one in a shagbark hickory and one in a bald cypress. We thank the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for their partnership and hospitality.
A view out over the floodplain forest on Ballard Wildlife Management Area. Photo by Bryan Watts.
Camellia (#679-01370, banded NC, hatched 11 March 2010), a male eaglet from the NBG nest, wears the satellite transmitter custom-fitted by the Center for Conservation Biology. Photo by the Center for Conservation Biology.
A brood of osprey in Mobjack Bay showing a well-fed chick (left) and an emaciated chick (right). The chick on the right would die the following week due to starvation. Work in Mobjack Bay over a 40+ year period has shown that both reproductive rates and food delivery rates have declined dramatically. The decline in provisioning has led to an increase in brood reduction or chick loss due to starvation. Photo by Bryan Watts.