Tracked eagles continue to blaze trail for conservation

By Bryan Watts

Like a good investment, the cohort of CCB eagles fitted with satellite 
transmitters between 2007 and 2009 continue to generate impressive dividends.  
The cohort has now generated well over 1,000,000 GPS locations that are being 
used to improve management techniques for the species.

In November, CCB was awarded a grant from the American Eagle Foundation to 
establish a National Bald Eagle Roost Registry.  Although communal roosts are 
protected by federal law regulations have only rarely been implemented due to 
the lack of information on their location.  Among other sources, the tracking 
data set will be used to delineate a large number of communal roosts to begin 
populating the registry.

Also to begin in the new year, CCB will be working with federal and NGO partners 
to delineate eagle movement corridors throughout the Northeast that will be used 
in the siting of wind turbines.  One of the most important considerations in 
reducing the likelihood that a hazard will impact wildlife is location, 
location, location.  For birds, understanding how they move through the region 
is critical to reducing mortality.

The cohort of eagles being tracked by CCB contains a number of individuals that 
have made regular movements between the Chesapeake Bay and the north.  One such 
individual named Fairlee on the tracking website (http://www.seaturtle.org/) has 
made multiple trips between a summering area on the St. Lawrence Seaway and 
wintering area on the Chesapeake Bay.  Collectively, these birds allow for the 
delineation of major movement corridors that should be considered when planning 
commercial wind farms.

Photo captions

Fairlee, an eagle being tracked by CCB as part of a movement study was 
photographed during a snow on Aberdeen Proving Ground last Sunday (12/8/13).  
Photo by Bart Roberts.

Fairlee as a nestling after being fitted with a satellite transmitter on 
Aberdeen Proving Ground.  Photo by Craig Koppie.

Fairlee with friend on Aberdeen Proving Ground.  Photo by Bart Roberts.

Map of migrations made by Fairlee between winter grounds on the Chesapeake Bay 
and summer grounds along the St. Lawrence Seaway.