....................................................................................Nice group to see them off.
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| QUOTE (Eagle Guy @ Jun 10 2008, 10:03 PM) |
| Everything went well with the transport and banding of the two birds. They were placed in the same 8x8 foot cage and seem to be getting along fine. Both are eating and we have a color camera in the tower from which we can record regular video. Unfortunately, the internet connection on the island is very slow at the Navy Site where we stay, so video uploads to Photobucket are going to have to be made from either the PH tent site (40 min of driving and 2 hours of hiking round trip) or the mainland/Catalina. Therefore, video updates may be posted a week or so after they are recorded. Here is a photo of the two birds in their new home for the next few weeks. |
| QUOTE (IWS Crew @ Jun 19 2008, 02:15 PM) |
| Hi everyone- I know that you all must be curious to see how A-64 and A-66 are doing in the hacktower. I saw that several of you were asking questions about A-66 branching. She has been perching a lot on both the tree stump perch, as well as the branch that we placed in the tower. Where she has been perching is roughly 3 feet above the floor. Both birds have been eating fish and hopping and flapping around their new home. We will try and post more videos and photos when one of us goes to the mainland where there are faster internet connections. But for now, enjoy these two photos of the birds.   |
| QUOTE (IWS Crew @ June 20 2008, 06:48PM) |
| We wanted to share a short video clip of both A-64 and A-66 interacting in the hack tower. Enjoy the footage, and again we will try to post pictures and video as often as we can since we don't have a camera online. |
| QUOTE (Stephanie - IWS Crew June 26 2008 @ 03:05PM) |
| It was incredibly hot on the island this past weekend, so we spent a lot of time catching fish for both A-64 and A-66. They both enjoyed all the fresh fish we gave them this weekend in the hack tower. They are both flapping around a lot and both birds are perching on the branch and tree stump. Other news is that the blood results came back for A-66 and we now know that it is a male, whereas we had previously thought it may have been a female. We will plan on opening the hack tower doors sometime early next week, as in the week of June 29, and will continue to provide food for both eagles near the hack tower. And of course, we will be tracking them using radiotelemetry and the GPS units. |
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| QUOTE (Eagle Guy @ Jun 30 2008, 12:03 PM) |
Below are a couple of photos I took of the birds in the tower last week. The tower door was opened last night. There will be more in the Wednesday update.  |
| QUOTE (IWS Crew @ Jul 4 2008, 12:10 PM) |
| Hi everyone- I saw that some of you had been asking questions about the two chicks from the hack tower. On Sunday night we opened the doors to the hack tower and Monday morning A-66 had already taken off at first light. A-64 hung out in the tower all morning and afternoon practicing flapping on the branch. In the early evening around 6:30PM he moved outside the door and remained perched there that evening. I went out to watch him on Tuesday July 1, and got a few pictures of him just before he left the tower in the afternoon. Here is a photo of A-64 just before fledging:  Both birds are staying close to the hack tower and I am tracking them using radio telemetry to see where they are hanging out. I am still putting food out at night for them in their nest and near the hack tower. I will continue to track the birds and try and get visuals of them and hopefully capture some photos for the update next week. Steph |
| QUOTE (jojoflys @ Jul 4 2008, 10:46 PM) | ||
I have been sending updates to Cathy Garner of the Fresno Wildlife Rehabilitation Service. This is her recent response:
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| QUOTE (Stephanie @ Jul 9 2008 @ 12:45 PM) |
| Hi everyone- This past week on Santa Cruz Island has been a long and crazy one. In the evening on Sunday June 29, we opened the hack tower door. Monday June 30, A-66 flew out of the tower at first light while A-64 hung out in the hack tower all day. A-64 roosted outside of the hack tower on a perch for the night of June 30 and flew away from the tower on July 1. Both birds have GPS units on them, and so we are able to track them using both the GPS and radio telemetry units. On Friday July 4, we received GPS points that showed where the birds were hanging out since they had left the tower. A-64 had chosen a canyon to the west of the tower for his first roost outside of his hack tower nest. However, the GPS data for A-66 showed it still hanging out next to the hack tower and not moving that much, so we thought it would be a good idea to investigate where the bird was hanging out. I went out there the next day, and found A-66 dead near the tower. We are not quite sure what the cause of death is, but we will be sending the body to a lab where scientists may be able to determine the cause of death. Despite the bad news about A-66, I do have good news to report about A-64. He has been out and about exploring the south side of Santa Cruz Island since he fledged on Tuesday July 1. I wasn't able to capture any photos of him after he fledged, but he is moving around quite a bit. Here are some photos of where he has been hanging out according to his GPS points and our radio tracking efforts: Canyon Below Hack Tower where A-64 has been hanging out. The hack tower is just to the left of center in the photo on the back ridge. |
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| QUOTE (jojoflys @ Jul 10 2008, 05:15 PM) | ||
| I have been sending updates on Survivor to Cathy Garner of Fresno Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Service. This is her response to the news that we lost Survivor.
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| QUOTE (IWS Crew @ Jul 13 2008, 09:34 AM) |
| Hi everyone- I just wanted to post a couple more videos of A-64 in the hack tower before he fledged. We were finally able to get the video working, minus the audio however, but with the slow internet connection it's hard to get things loaded quickly. So enjoy the videos recorded from last week. A-64 Eating in Tower  A-64 in Tower  |
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| QUOTE (harpo516 @ Jul 15 2008, 08:12 PM) |
| Got a surprise phone call from Dr. Weldy - he said to let everyone know that Skye was doing very well in the flight cage - balanced and symmetrical He could fly up to a 15' high perch and do about a 30' flight and he was very pleased with his progress and is expecting he will soon fledge at SC! |
| QUOTE (Eagle Guy @ Jul 15 2008, 04:31 PM) |
| We are currently getting A-64's signal from the Pelican Harbor area. We will head down the hill to see if we can get a visual. He could fly up to the nest. He was also at Prisoner's Harbor when we got off the boat yesterday. Must have been greeting his brother. |
| QUOTE (IWS Crew @ Jul 17 2008, 09:49 PM) |
| Hi everyone- I just wanted to let you know that A-65 fledged this morning from the hack tower. He was flapping around a lot on the ground and exploring the area, hopping on bushes and trees. He even ate some of the fish that we had put out on the ground. He is still roosting around the tower this evening, and we will continue to monitor where he goes and also keep placing food out for him. A-65 perched outside hack tower  A-65 flapping outside hack tower just before he flew off  A-65 feeding in front of hack tower  Enjoy the photos and I will try to get more of both A-64 and A-65 this week. Steph |
| QUOTE (IWS Crew @ Jul 19 2008, 11:13 AM) |
Here is a video of A-65 in the hack tower: He is still hanging out around the hack tower. I'll try to post more videos of A-65 later this week. Steph |
| QUOTE (IWS Crew Aug 13 2008 @ 02:05 PM) |
Unfortunately I have sad news to report. On the 8th of August at 7:40 in the morning while surveying the North Shore of Santa Cruz Island I found A-65 dead. He was floating in a Giant Kelp patty in the eastern harbor of Twin Harbors. He was head down floating and entangled in the Giant Kelp at Twin Harbor’s. I was on a boat surveying for him when I found him using his radio transmitter. I had received of his location that morning when I downloaded the Satellite signal sent by the GPS transmitter on his backpack. We quickly took him back to the housing, and put him in a freezer. A-65 will be sent to the Eagle Repository. We are unsure why A-65 died. We speculate that he could have attempted to go to the water and got tied up in the Giant Kelp forest. The aggressive mobbing of gulls could have also forced him into the water. When I surveyed his body for injuries there where none. He was fresh and could not have been dead for more than 8 hours. The movements of A-65 in the previous days indicated to us that he was healthy, moving between coves and cliffy terrain on the north shore of Santa Cruz Island. He had stayed to the west of Pelican Harbor near Twin Harbor’s. This is difficult news to tell you after the adverse hurtles A-65 had gone through to be back healthy and free on Santa Cruz Island. There were many people who participated in getting Skye back to his home. The wilderness is a difficult place to survive and sometimes even extra help can’t guarantee survival. |
| QUOTE (IWS Crew Aug 13 2008 @ 02:05 PM) |
| I am glad to report that A-64 is healthy and enjoying the great foraging beaches on the West End. He has been seen mostly on Christie Beach and I have photos of him perched on the cliffs of Christie Point. He jumped and soared into the ocean winds and demonstrated how well he has become at soaring. I soon lost a visual of him after he flew several miles to the north. |
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