Title: Northern Channel Islands Nests 2010/2011
Description: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa & Anacapa Isles.
Cumbrian - March 12, 2011 07:22 AM (GMT)
Some of you pointed out there is a lack of a good reference map for the places we talk about on Santa Cruz Island, and after looking around on the internet a bit I (Helen) wholeheartedly agreed, so I put this together. I hope it helps.
As you know All Eagles All The Time 2010/2011 is an Archival/History where videos and still captures, showing all the various stages throughout the year in the lives of all the eagles, on the nests with WebCams, are posted.
The Pelican Harbor (PH) Nest ... is the only nest on Santa Cruz Island that currently has an online camera. BUT .. K-10 & K-26 have moved house ... not once but twice .. and unfortunately their new nest is in a remote area with no good observation points and therefore an online camera is a NO GO at this time.
HOWEVER .. all the PH equipment was decommissioned and moved to another nest on Santa Cruz Island ... and as of Tuesday, April 5, 2011 .. the Sauces Canyon (SC) Nest .. is now online. This nest will now have it's own thread on AEATT so all references to it will be removed from this one.
You can find out who is who at each nest by visiting the Meet The Adult Pairs thread.
In order to follow the events happening on the Northern Channel Islands nests this season ... this thread has been opened and I will be posting the links to the Northern Channel Islands Updates, written by Helen, Don and the other IWS Crew members ... along with the photos taken by them ... so that members can easily access the current information about the nests. I asked Don and Helen if it was possible to update the map that Stephanie updated for us last year, showing the Santa Cruz Island Pairs 2010. It all depended on whether they could prove who was with whom .. and where!
Super Thanks to Helen ... who has produced the three maps shown above. Cumbrian - March 12, 2011 07:41 AM (GMT)
UPDATES RE ADULT PAIRS :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. February 22 - March 1, 2011 :clk:
Kim: Hello Fellow Eagle Enthusiasts!
It has been another splendid week on Santa Cruz Island for Pete and I. You will get a BONUS update this week from Don who spent the tour on Santa Rosa Island to get the latest eagle gossip there.
We are finding it curious that except for one pair (on Rosa) there doesn’t appear to be the same pair using the same nest from last year, despite it being such a successful season.
If you read through the reference section below, you'll notice that we have our work cut out for us this season. Those that have functional GPS backpacks provide invaluable data on the latest without our having to leave our desk. As for the rest, we hike through shrubbery and cling to cliff faces for a fleeting glimpse of their whereabouts. Yet it is this mystery and detective challenge that keeps us going.
I have included a reference section below in case any of you find your head spinning trying to keep track of the eagles, the pairs, the whereabouts, and the what-up-tos.
Santa Cruz Island Reference Guide:
Here is a quick – or not so quick – summary of our eagles, starting with our beloved Pelican Harbor pair and running counterclockwise around the island:
Pelican Harbor pair: Nesting near Twin Harbors, K-10 and K-26 appear to be incubating but the number of eggs is unknown as we are unable to see into the nest bowl.
Fry’s Harbor pair: A-46 and A-24 have spent considerable time in the same harbor, sometimes together, sometimes apart for over a year now. They certainly aren’t rushing into anything but we hope they are/will be an “item” with youngsters on the way.
Cueva Valdez/Baby’s pair: A-00 and A-16 have been recently seen in generally close proximity, but nest building activity at last year’s nest appears to be minimal at best and probably non-existent. Have they have selected a new nest location or … ?
Sauces pair: The female A-27 has a new mate, A-40. They are, as of Monday, not incubating but they are spending copious amounts of time at the nest relocating sticks and fluffing fluff, or as we would say, “baby-proofing the home.”
Carl/Malva Real pair: The presumed male K-11 (needs verification) has a new mate, but the jury is still out on who the “lady” is. They do not appear to be nest building at the Carl nest from last year – Stay tuned for more eagle gossip.
Willows Anchorage pair: Like two peas in a pod, A-45 and A-51 have been seen together quite a lot in the last month. Their nest is currently eluding us but we are fairly confident they have one somewhere along roughly 8 miles of rugged partially-inaccessible coastline. Ahh, to have the gift of flight that gets you “there” with the mere spread of your wings…
Yellowbanks pair: We think we have a budding pair as A-21 of the old Yellowbanks pair has recently been seen with A-48, who has also been spending the last months in the area.
The potentially new Smugglers pair: A-59 has long made Smuggler’s Cove her territory of choice. In the last week or so A-58 has wandered into her domain. They are likely fledgling-mates in the hack tower where they were released. At the risk of being anthropogenic, can eagles have “childhood sweethearts?”
And as far as the Verde and Lopez pairs on Rosa, you will just have to read Don’s update – which you will certainly want to do! (Insider’s tip.) Cumbrian - March 12, 2011 09:13 AM (GMT)
EGG .. CITING NEWS ON SANTA ROSA:clk:
Santa Rosa Island Update. February 22 - March 1, 2011 :clk:
Lopez Nest ~ Santa Rosa Island Don: I headed off to check on the Lopez nest.
As I rode along the coast near the mouth of the nest canyon I spotted this eagle, but was unable to ID it. It ended up flying up the nest canyon, and since it had blue tags, I assumed it was A-43. The Lopez pair female.
Like many of the nests now, we have a camera installed at Lopez so we can monitor it from out of sight and get closer views than a scope provides. When I plugged a monitor into the cable end I was surprised, but pleased, to note an eagle incubating on the nest.
Wow, this is way earlier than last year for them. The eagle on the nest was facing away from me so I couldn't see the tags at all, but I hung around for awhile and soon A-43 showed up for a shift change. Well, that must be K-36 incubating then, but much to my surprise the incubating bird arose and had blue tags too! Huh!?!?
Another pair, and a successful one at that, changes mates! This year is just getting crazier and crazier.
Anyway, let me introduce you to the new Lopez male, A-39. Video by Don: LOPEZ NEST. Santa Rosa Island On the last full one of the tour, I paid another visit to the Lopez Nest. Here's another bit of video for you. Just A-39 on the nest this time, but he sure looks like a good papa. And you can count the eggs (oops, was that plural ) somewhere around the 2:10 minute mark. Video by Don: A-39 on the Lopez Nest.
Trap Canyon Nest ~ Santa Rosa Island Don: The next day I headed over to check on the Trap Canyon pair and their nest near Verde Canyon. Luckily we have a camera on that nest too. Oops, this is not a good sign.
Dang it! Obviously something went wrong with that camera. Maybe it fell off it's mount or they objected to the intrusion and covered it with poo, but either way it's not particularly useful now.
I tried to find a way to observe the nest without being seen by the birds, but since one of them was on lookout and would have spotted me before I could see the nest, I left it for that day. Later I could confer with Dr. Sharpe about our options.
After talking things over we decided I should try to get a look, very briefly, at the Trap pair's nest to at least ascertain if they were incubating. So the next morning I headed back out there. I was fortunate that the “sentinel” bird was not around and I was able to tell that the other bird was on the nest. But it was none too happy with my presence.
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But it, or the other one, who showed up soon after, returned to the nest within 15 minutes of my disturbing them. So it looks like they weren't terribly put off. And even though I couldn't see into the nest bowl enough, all their behavior indicates we have egg or eggs there too. Yea!(Pictures courtesy of Don and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the dates Cumbrian - March 12, 2011 07:26 PM (GMT)
EGG .. CITING NEWS ON SANTA CRUZ :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. March 1-8, 2011 :clk:
Helen: Hello all, and welcome to another installment of the Santa Cruz Island Eagle Update. This was definitely an exciting week, with lots of hiking, scanning, and two or three exciting discoveries. It was definitely one of those weeks that rushes by and is over before you know it just because so much is happening! Willows Anchorage ~ Santa Cruz Island Helen: It began quietly enough. Tuesday afternoon surveys showed a pair of eagles fly from the cliffs just east of Valley Anchorage, west along the coast, and disappear up a large draw. One was A-51, but we couldn’t get a visual on the other. We had wanted to focus a lot of time on the Willows pair this tour, so it was really nice to spot them so early on.
Here is where they were before they flew west.
The Circle on the right is the location of the picture above. The circle on the left shows the area along the coast where they turned inland and disappeared.
The next day we hiked down and surveyed a few sections of coast on the east side of where the eagles seemed to have landed on Tuesday. Of course, this meant that they decided to fly east, to just past our field quarters, and perch at the base of those cliffs, nowhere near where we were surveying. :huh: We were able to see where they were perching, though. They spent hours near the perch, flying down for brief visits to the beach, and then back up to the ridge.
The coast they flew along, showing the areas they perched ... ... Where they flew from ... The ridge they flew to ... On the beach.
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So then Thursday Helen and Michael checked on that area, hiking to above the ridge where we saw them on Wednesday, while Maria went to the west side of where we’d seen them Tuesday. We figured this would cover all the bases. We covered lots of ground, but none of us saw any eagles that day. :(
Things began to get really exciting on Saturday. Okay, I don’t want to get you too excited about this, but there was definitely a nest down there … It was a little old for a ‘new nest’ and it was partially hidden behind the rock face, so it is hard to be sure if it is big enough to be an eagle nest. It also didn’t have eagles nearby all day, and although we have seen both of them a lot, showing that they weren’t incubating earlier in the week, it does put a big question mark over whether they are using this nest or not.
All I can say is that there is a possible nest in an area that we saw the Willows pair, and I can assure you that Don and Kim will be monitoring it. I hope the eagles use it, because it is a beautiful location.
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Malva Real/Carl Nest ~ Santa Cruz Island Helen: As if that wasn’t excitement enough, the next day brought the discovery of another, more viable, nest in the Malva Real/Carl Pair’s territory.
Although the nest doesn’t look like much, it is actually pretty comparable to the 2006 ground nest in this territory. It might even be more of a nest. On top of that, I saw 2 adult eagles, likely the Malva Real pair, flying in the vicinity of this nest. Again, it is not a sure thing, but boy am I excited. There are more super photos on this update .... just too many to post on this page.
Sauces Nest ~ Santa Cruz Island
This nest is now online ... so has it's own thread over on AEATT.
(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date Cumbrian - April 12, 2011 06:16 AM (GMT)
SEARCHING FOR THE ADULT PAIRS/NESTS ON SC. ISLAND :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. March 8 - 15, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Baby's Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island We went over to see if there was any activity with A-00 and A-16, the Cueva Valdez pair, at their nest near Baby's Cove.
So far, unfortunately, it doesn't appear that they are using that nest. We aren't giving up hope though since they were one of the last pairs to nest last year. And we did see two birds around Cueva and Hazards Coves, their usual haunts, who were likely this pair and at least one of them even made flights into the Baby's Cove canyon so they certainly seem to still be active in the area.
Hopefully Helen and Maria will have more news on this front.Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Kim went off to the west end of the island to check on the Carl nest of the Malva Real pair and the new ground nest Helen found.
She saw birds in the vicinity of Carl and the ground nest, but nothing that looked like nesting behavior.
Our last full day Kim had some luck on her run to the west end and saw an orange-tagged bird at the Carl nest tree. Most likely this was K-11 so hopefully they are still considering using that nest.
She again caught sight, later on, of an orange-tagged bird down near the Malva nest so maybe he, if it was the same bird, is going to keep us guessing for awhile.Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz IslandDon & Kim It's been mostly a chore trying to find the Willows pair's nest. We have hopefully made some progress, behavior indicating a likely nest site, but it isn't visible from any of the many vantage points we could access. This one may take a helicopter to verify.
Since the Willows pair has been our main focus of late we started off, and spent much of the week, retracing many of places the rest of the team has been and made observations of this pair.
We started the tour checking on the nest Helen had found out near Albert's and, while it is a nice nest, as she suspected it appears a bit too small for eagles. At any rate, it wasn't being used by anyone, at least not recently.
Another day and more searching for the Willows pair. I went to the Coches/Bowen Point area while Kim surveyed from the Blue Banks area to the east of me.
Sometimes it pays to go back to the beginning. Yep, the Willows pair, at Willows. At least it was A-51, I couldn't see the tag on the other bird, but I'd put money on it being A-45.
They moved to a different perch while I watched.
But then they took off, gained some altitude and made a bee-line to the east. I followed.
I had a hunch they were headed back over to the fox pen ridge area so I went over to the Blue Banks area where I could see most of the eastern section of the south coast.
It's a looonnngggg view. It took awhile, but I finally caught sight of them again, at least I believe it was them. All the pieces fit anyway. And, yes, they were very distant. Somewhere in that circle.
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While watching this far distant view and these little dots flying about, and trying to differentiate them from the dots dancing in my eyes by this point, I saw some interesting behavior. Behavior very reminiscent of nest fluff gathering, on some of the cliff side green patches, and then flying to an out-of-view spot on the cliffs and then a return for more fluff it would seem.
Needless to say, viewing eagles at this distance, big as they may be, requires some degree of interpretation of their activities, but I'm fairly certain this was what was going on.
There's actually an eagle in there, and there should be a nest nearby, but how to get there and verify it?
We spent the next day brush-crashing up and down the hills and around the cliff tops of Los Pinos del Sur and the fox pen ridge trying to catch sight of a nest. No luck, just a brief glimpse of a bird we couldn't even see the tags of. So hard to see over the cliffs when you don't want to get too close to the edge of them.
One last full day and I headed back to the Los Pinos del Sur/fox pen ridge area while Kim went back west again. I managed to get down to the beach in hopes of getting a view up the cliffs to a nest. That proved fruitless, but I did catch sight of a pair of adults where we've been seeing the Willows pair.
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I did make it to the beach, but there are just too many ledges and hidden areas on the cliffs to see all the possible nest locations.
That did it for this tour. Hopefully things will become a little clearer over the next couple of weeks. It sure has been an odd early season with all the switching of mates, nests, and unresolved questions. We'll keep at it and despite the hurdles it's still looking to be a very productive nesting season.(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - April 14, 2011 07:03 AM (GMT)
THE SEARCH FOR THE ADULT PAIRS/NESTS ON SC. ISLAND CONTINUES! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. March 15 - 22, 2011 :clk:
Helen: Other than the addition of a new staff member, this week was much like Don and Kim’s last shift.
We spent a lot of it searching for the Willows pair, with occasional breaks to check other territories. The surveying began on Tuesday, almost as soon as we landed. I (Helen) took Ania on a short tour of some of the island, while Maria scanned from Valley Anchorage, but none of us saw any Bald Eagles. Cueva Valdez .. aka Baby's Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Helen I went to where we can check the video on the Baby’s nest, and it was still empty.
There was one adult flying in the territory, though, and it landed on the Cueva Valdez pair’s favorite tree. It was probably A-00 or A-16. It perched there for over an hour before being joined by an orange-tagged juvenile, probably the same one spotted earlier by Ania. After a few more hours, both birds flew away to the west. Perhaps the draw they flew up is the new nesting area. Only time and a lot more hiking will tell.
Photo #1 .. Where the two eagles were spotted is circled, where they flew to is the arrow.
Photo #2 .. The 2 eagles in the tree ... Zoomed all the way in.
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Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island We decided to try the same plan of attack on the Malva Real pair. Maria went out to Laguna and then hiked up the Sierra Blancas to where she could see the new nest site and most of the rest of the territory.
Then the two of us checked on the Carl Nest. Since there were no Bald Eagles in the area, we went around to a high point that gave us a view of both the new nest and the back side of Carl. We spent the rest of the day there, but never saw any eagles.Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island I decided to follow in Don’s footsteps and go back to the Willows area. Ania surveyed from ridges to the east of Willows and I climbed the ridge to the west. Meanwhile, Maria was scanning from a few miles east.
We hoped that by spreading out along the Willow’s pair’s territory, we would increase our chances of catching a glimpse of them, and it worked! Maria spotted 2 adults flying along the coast east of Valley Anchorage. We had expected to see them in the same area that Don and Kim had, but they were more than a mile west of that area. They definitely don’t make it easy!:wacko:
Where they were on the coast.
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............................................................................ One adult .. Max zoom!
The next day Maria went back to where Don and Kim had seen the Willows pair, near Loma Pelona, but didn’t see any eagles all day.
The following day we tried to spread out along the east end of the Willows pair’s territory again. This time Maria was at the far east end, Helen was at the midpoint, and Ania was a little way inland. There were no sightings of adults.
The week ended with Maria and Helen doing one last check of the eastern portion of the Willows pair’s territory. Neither saw any adults, but Helen saw one juvenile fly over heading east. She wasn’t able to get an ID, but hopefully the GPS data will tell us. (Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - April 14, 2011 08:00 AM (GMT)
SUCCESS! CUEVA VALDEZ's NEW NEST FOUND! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. March 22 - 29, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Baby's Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Don/Kim: As you are likely aware, we have spent a great deal of time trying to find a nest of the Willows pair, A-51 and A-45.
This week we refocused much of our efforts to try to get a handle on some of the other pairs on the island. Specifically, the Cueva Valdez pair, A-00 and A-16. Recent visits to their nest from last year have shown no activity, but we had seen the pair in their usual haunts near Cueva. This is their realm on the north shore, looking northeast.
Recent observations of the Cueva pair suggested that a visit to Hazards Canyon was warranted. Unfortunately, the weather led to rough seas and made a drop-off from the boat impossible. Well, nothing like a hike over the North Ridge to get the blood flowing. Wink.gif
We were rewarded even before starting down towards Hazards with a visit from this adult with a transmitter. A-16? We'll have to see if we get GPS data for her at that date and time.
And then we headed down, Kim taking the west ridge, and I (Don) the east ridge. We wanted to be sure we covered the area completely as it's not the kind of hike you want to do and then miss something.
Looking down into Hazards.
Luckily, one of the Cueva birds was sitting in their favorite tree just east of Hazards and we were able to watch it until it made a move into Hazards.
Kim's vantage point allowed her to watch the bird until it disappeared low into the canyon and was able to direct me close to that point. But all I could see was the other side of the canyon and a bunch of trees. But wait! I do see something! It's ..., it's ..., oh it's just another eagle watcher.
But wait!, again. I think she sees something.
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Sorry the pictures aren't a little closer.
We couldn't get a view of the egg or eggs as the incubating bird didn't move in the time we were there, but finding the nest was a big relief. And the other half of the pair showed up and did some flying nearby as we were leaving the area.
That was definitely the highpoint of the tour.
From the Helo Survey .. April 6/11 .. Eagle Guy: I tried to check on the status of the Cueva Valdez nest. Both birds were at the nest, but wouldn't move for me to see the eggs/chicks
Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island We did get out the last day and look for the Willows pair ... A-51 and A-45. again.
We spotted a pair we suspect was them, based on where they've been spending their time lately, but they were just hanging out together, suggesting they aren't incubating at the moment. Oh well, there is still time.(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - April 14, 2011 03:07 PM (GMT)
NEW NEST FOUND ON ANACAPA ISLAND! Posted on the IWS Facebook .. April 5th, 2011.
Another milestone! A former employee found a bald eagle nest on Anacapa Island last week so that we now have eagles breeding on half of the Channel Islands.
The pair is the former Yellowbanks pair on Santa Cruz, male A-21 and female A-11.:clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. March 29 - April 5, 2011 :clk:
Helen/IWS Crew: We received an e-mail that one of our previous employees, while doing some work on Anacapa, discovered the real Yellowbanks pair’s nest.
It is apparently A-21 and A-11 and here are the pictures he sent us:
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The Nest.............................. A-21 in flight A-21 and A-11 are the Oak Canyon Pair, so named because of their first nest.(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - April 14, 2011 05:03 PM (GMT)
WE SEEK'em HERE .. WE SEEK'em THERE! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. March 29 - April 5, 2011 :clk:
Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz IslandHelen/IWS Crew: I hiked down to check on the Fry’s Pair. I was very excited. This pair, A-46 and A-24, have been spending a lot of time together, and have a very small contained territory. We also had GPS data from A-46, so I knew which areas to focus my nest search on. I hiked down, marveling at the beauty of their canyon, and scanning regularly for nests.
Fry’s Canyon from the top of the ridge. What a handsome bird A-46 is.
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I was excited to see him, but still wasn’t far enough down the ridge to check any of the side canyon. So I hiked further, losing sight of A-46 on the way. A little further along, I saw him again, but this time he was flying with A-24.
Close-up of A-46 flying
Any time you see both of the birds of a pair flying or perched together for a considerable amount of time, you can assume that they are not incubating. Unfortunately, that means our Fry’s Harbor pair aren’t incubating yet. Too bad, I was really hoping to find Stephen Junior’s nest.
From the Helo Survey .. April 6/11 .. Eagle Guy: I continued along the north coast to check on the Fry's Harbor birds. We went up the canyon to an area where there have been a lot of GPS points. I found a nest, but it is not currently in use.
Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Maria went out to check on the Malva Real pair.
I had looked along the coast for them earlier in the week without any luck, so this time Maria checked the old Carl nest to see if they were there, and then went to viewpoints on the southwest side of their territory. She covered a lot of territory, but never saw any Bald Eagles either.
Where are they hiding?
From the Helo Survey .. April 6/11 .. Eagle Guy: Our next sighting was another bird that we had not been able to identify, the new Malva Real female.
It turns out she is A-35, a bird that spent a lot of time in Santa Barbara a couple of years ago. 
Smugglers ~ Santa Cruz Island The next day we were able to go out in the boat, and we went all the way around the east end of the island and along the south coast as far as Willows.
We saw the two Smuggler’s birds together, so they aren’t incubating, but aren’t they a cute couple.
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Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island Finally, we saw what we are pretty sure was A-51 at Willows.
She was perched on a small tree growing in the cliffs above Willows Anchorage. We watched her for an hour, and never saw A-45. Hopefully he was at a nest, but there’s no way to know until we find one.
Here’s some pictures of A-51.
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Yellowbanks ~ Santa Cruz Island A new nest was discovered .. so please click on the Update for all the other news/photos about the search for this pair on SC Island prior to the nest discovery So that leaves us with four Santa Cruz/ Anacapa nests which are
• The PH pair at Twin Harbor
• The Cueva pair at Hazards
• The Sauces pair at, well, Sauces
• And The Yellowbanks pair at Anacapa
And pairs which may nest, so we want to keep tabs on include the following:
• The Malva Real pair
• The Willows pair
• The Fry’s Harbor pair
• The Smuggler’s pair (Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - April 16, 2011 11:52 PM (GMT)
SAD NEWS FROM SANTA ROSA ISLAND! :clk:
Santa Rosa Island Update. April 5-12, 2011 :clk:
Lopez Nest ~ Santa Rosa Island Don & Kim: Hello folks,
Kim and I were out on Santa Rosa this tour while Dr. Sharpe covered Santa Cruz. I wish I could say it was a good tour, but things don't always work out the way you expect or hope.
After arriving the first day we went out to check on the Lopez nest to discover that it had mostly fallen away. :(
We headed down along the coast to see if either of the adults was around after that, but we didn't see either of them. Not a fun start to the tour, as you might expect.
The next day we went back to Lopez with the intention of looking for signs of eggs or chicks in the nest debris, but soon after starting into the canyon A-43 showed up, obviously displeased with our presence.
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We backed off and Kim observed her for much of the day on the off chance they might have built a new nest. Since, at the time, all we knew was this one might have collapsed any time since I was last there at the end of February, but no sign of a new nest was observed. Another day and another trip back to Lopez to hike all the way to the nest this time.
We didn't see either of the adults until we were already at the nest site and then A-43 showed up, distressed again. But her behavior seems understandable since we found the remains of what looked to be about a 2 week old chick and egg fragments in the nest wreckage. I'll spare you the chick picture.
A-39 showed up carrying a fish not too long after A-43 arrived. It would seem they are still working on "acceptance", if I'm not anthropomorphizing too much?
Trap Canyon Nest .. aka Verde Canyon Nest .. ~ Santa Rosa Island I went to check on the Trap Canyon pair and their nest near Verde Canyon, hoping for good news this time. But while the nest was in considerably better condition, the outcome wasn't any better. It was empty.
But the adults were around, though not when I first showed myself, and though not real defensive, they still showed some displeasure at my trespassing.
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........ A-22 ................................ A-08 .................. Synchronized flying We even went back (to the Trap pair's nest) at the end of the tour to make absolutely sure the nest was empty (it's very hard to see into) and look for any sign of eggs or chicks below the nest, but found nothing.
The adults were around again, but showed very little protective behavior and eventually flew out of sight.
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(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - May 2, 2011 07:57 AM (GMT)
STILL SEARCHING FOR NESTS ON SANTA CRUZ ISLAND :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. April 12 - 19, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Saturday was a fun day all around. Maria hiked out and checked on the Hazards nest.
She saw both eagles, but the one incubating never stood to show if there were eggs or chicks. She thinks from behavior that we are still at egg stage though. I just can’t wait to know how many! :tap:
The Hazard's nest area (showing the nest circled and where the other adult was with an arrow)
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Nest with an adult incubating......Zoomed in...............Other adult nearby................Now hereMalva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Helen: I accompanied a group of archeologists out to the Malva Real/ Punta Arena area. They were hoping to do some soil samples and specimen collections, and I needed to be there in case the Malva pair had decided to use the nest we had found on Punta Arena.
I was glad to go out there anyway, since the Malva pair have been pretty elusive, and I was hoping to see them and figure out what they were up to. Although I was out there for hours, I didn’t see them. Here is the view east from Punta Arena though, showing some of the pair’s territory.
Friday I went to Pozo beach, to see if that was where the Malva Real pair have been hiding. If it was, they were doing a pretty great job, cause I didn’t see them all day! :blink:
Sunday .. I checked on the Malva Real pair again, and again I saw no eagles while in their territory. Smugglers ~ Santa Cruz Island Michael and I hiked over Montanon to the far east end of the island, near Smuggler’s Cove, to check on A-58 and A-57.
The arrows show the two canyons of interest, but we also check all the surrounding coastline
When got down past Smuggler’s Cove, we saw one Bald Eagle perched on a large offshore rock up ahead. We lost sight of it behind the land as we hiked, and when the rock reappeared, the eagle had gone. Why can’t they just stay still?
Just a little while later, we arrived at the point that we had seen A-58 and A-57 perched during our boat survey last tour. You can tell they really like this spot, just look at all the poop!
This shows the favorite perch with the offshore rock perch in the background
We hiked a little further, and saw another eagle (or possibly the same one) perched on the cliffs along the coast. I set up my scope, and… it was A-58.
Then I left Michael watching A-58, and hiked further along the coast, checking out the canyons. I found the roost trees that both A-58 and A-57’s GPS points show them spend a lot of time at. They were full of little feathers and had tons of excrement below them.
Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island Maria went down to check on the Willows pair. She had hiked all the way down Willows Canyon, searching for nests, when she saw a pair of eagles soaring near El Tigre. Sorry, they were too far for pictures, but it is still pretty exciting.
While there was no confirmed ID, it was probably the Willows pair, and that would mean that they aren’t yet incubating. (Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - May 2, 2011 08:40 PM (GMT)
GUESS SOME PAIRS ARE NOT NESTING THIS SEASON! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. April 19 - 26, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Don/Kim: We got lucky at the start of what was a windy tour and managed to get the boat out despite the choppy seas. We were hoping to get all the way to Hazard's Cove and check on the Cueva Valdez Pair, but it got a bit rough for that.
Kim took a hike out to Hazards to check on the Cueva pair about the same date they hatched A-72 last year, but after just over 4 hours, when the bird on the nest finally moved, she still couldn't get a clear view into the nest bowl.
That's a bit frustrating when you have to hike about 2.5 hours each way, plus ride an ATV about 1.5 each way, just to see the nest. It makes for a VERY long day. It also meant that I would take my turn at it later in the week.
On the last full day I headed for Hazards.
When I got down to the nest vantage point A-16 was on the nest but she didn't rise until A-00 showed up for a parent switch, about 1.25 hours after I arrived.
A-00 was kind enough to allow me a couple of decent views into the nest and I was able to ascertain that there is at least one egg, possibly two, and no chicks as of April 25th. But, on two occasions, A-00 kind of jumped up and looked down at the egg/s as they do if a chick is making noise within the egg. So hopefully there was a hatching soon after that day. Maria (Helen is on Rosa) will be checking the nest this tour and hopefully will have good news for us soon. :X: :hatch:
The Cueva pair's Hazard Canyon nest, w/A-00 on the nest..., still incubating.
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Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island We also checked on the nest Dr. Sharpe found at Fry's Harbor during his helicopter survey. Or rather, I relaxed in the boat “surveying” while Kim did the ridge crawling. She's such a good sport.
We both observed a blue-tagged adult briefly flying over Fry's and westward soon after we arrived at Fry's, but we weren't able to ID it. There is a good chance it was A-46 based on the GPS data we have for him about that time. He's been spending a lot of time going between Fry's and the Cueva area. We didn't catch sight of A-24.
The Fry's nest was still unoccupied so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what develops there next year. Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island I (Don) went out to see if I could find the Malva Real pair one day and located them in one of their usual spots, at the end of Sierra Blanca Ridge near Punta Arena, sitting side by side. Doesn't look like they'll be nesting this year either.
Unfortunately, they were “quicker to the draw” than I was and took off before I would have liked. I'll be a little sneakier next time.
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(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - May 7, 2011 08:16 PM (GMT)
ALL QUIET ON SANTA ROSA ISLAND!:clk:
Santa Rosa Island Update. April 26 - May 3, 2011 :clk:
This update will be a little shorter than usual, both because it was a smaller crew this tour (just me) and because it was a very quiet week.
This tour, my main objective was to hike around and survey the areas that Don and Kim hadn’t gotten to on previous tours. Trap Canyon Nest .. aka Verde Canyon Nest .. ~ Santa Rosa Island Helen: Monday was my favorite day, because I saw eagles. I still have a moment of sheer joy when I first spot one. This time I had hiked down the Lobo Canyon Trail, and was surveying from above the water when I saw an eagle fly east and land (and then drop behind the ridge):
I went to where I had seen the eagle land and saw two eagles fly by heading west over the water. I lost sight of them behind the coast, so I headed to a canyon just west of Lobo, and saw two eagles perched in a tree on the inland end of the canyon.
They were chased away by ravens, but I hiked to where they had been perched, and there was a tree covered in whitewash. So now we have an idea of a favorite hangout for those two. I didn’t get close enough to see their tag numbers all day, but because I was seeing them in the area of the coast near the Verde nest site, it was likely the Verde Pair.
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........... Area where they were perched.............. Whitewash tree (Pictures courtesy of Helen)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots of other pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - May 10, 2011 03:34 PM (GMT)
NEW CHICK ON THE HAZARD'S NEST!:clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. April 26 - May 3, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Maria: I spoke with Don on our island switch out and he informed me of the interesting activity that occurred at the Hazards nest on Monday the 25th. A-00 sort of jumping up and looking at the egg twice.
At that moment I planned my first hike out to Hazards to be the very next day and ... I was rewarded with a very clear view of A-16 and A-00’s chick!
A-16 was laying on the nest when her chick popped its head up in front of her breast feathers to my delight at 1:20pm! A-16 would reposition herself and cover the chick again but the chick popped its head up 4 more times before A-16 finally just stood up. The chick was so brand new that it had trouble holding itself steady and would fall every time the nest swayed from the wind. Precious ….
I caught a visual of A-00 flying up and down the Hazards canyon a couple times over their nest perhaps checking on A-16. This was a great day and my first eaglet visual ever!
The chick hatched between Monday the 25th 3:30pm and Wednesday the 27th 1pm.
I could not tell if there were other eggs in the nest that have yet to hatch so I planned another hike to Hazards on the following Sunday. On Sunday (accompanied by Ania) there was still one chick and this time it was fat and super fluffed out! Very adorable. A-00 was on duty this time and I had the luck of watching him feed the chick some food that was already in the nest.
I have several pictures but please forgive the heat distortion; it’s very hard to get a clear picture.
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(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim, Maria and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - May 21, 2011 06:31 AM (GMT)
MAY UPDATE!:clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. May 3-10, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Don: On our way to the west end of the island, we stopped at Cueva Valdez and saw one of the Cueva birds at their favorite tree (at least that's who we assume it was). Just not sure which one.
We had planned to get down and check on the Cueva pair's nest/chick near Hazard's at the end of the week, but had to check out the Sauces Canyon Nest's camera feed instead. Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island We continued on up to Fry's Harbor looking for A-46 and A-24 since we didn't find them last time.
A-46 was cooperative and on his usual cliff face. While we were watching him he took flight and caught himself a meal, and an escort.
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He settled in for a meal at a nice outside “table”. But then he decided a table in the shade would be more to his liking, and the tearing and rending commenced.
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After completing his meal he flew off to a tree at the east side of Fry's, and it was also at this time we caught site of A-24. So it looks as if they might still be a pair next year.
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................................................. A-24............................. A-46 We caught sight of A-24 again on the return trip, but A-46 had taken his leave by then. Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island Don: One of the days I got out to the Willows area and caught sight of one bird, but I was much too far away to ID it. It didn't hang out for more than a few minutes, but it was still nice to see.
(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim, Maria and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots of other pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - May 21, 2011 07:45 AM (GMT)
NEST CHECK .. and other news! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. May 10-17, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Helen: Friday was a really fun day for me. I got to make my first visit to the Hazard’s nest.
It was a long hike, but definitely worth it. When I got there, A-16 was on the nest, and there was no chick to be seen.
After watching the nest for only an hour, I saw A-00 flying in from the coast, land in a nearby tree and then fly away again. A-16 stood up when he came into view, and flew off with him when he left, leaving the nest empty except for the chick. I was able to get a pretty clear view of it, although the heat shimmer made it less clear than I would have liked.
A little fuzzy, but the gray blob below the arrow is the chick.
A few minutes later, A-00 arrived in the nest with a big fish. He began feeding the chick, but stopped and mantled over the food as A-16 flew into the nest. A-00 snapped at her and she flew to a nearby branch, leaving him to eat and feed the chick in peace. After realizing that she wasn’t getting any of this particular fish, A-16 flew away.
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Finally, A-00 finished feeding the chick and they both settled down. Excellent timing on their part, since that was just about the time I needed to start hiking out to get back before dark. What a satisfying day! Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island We got lucky this week and were able to get out in the boat on the first full day on the island. We arrived at Fry’s Harbor, and were pleased to see A-46 perched on a tree.
While we were watching him, we got a wonderful surprise when A-24 flew down, scooped up a fish and was chased back to the cliffs by hungry gulls. Wow!
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She finally landed below A-46
We got one more sighting before we headed home. Here are A-24 and A-46 perched together at Fry’s.
I really hope they stay around and nest next year, they are a fun pair of eagles to watch. (Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim, Maria and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots of other pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - May 28, 2011 07:03 AM (GMT)
NEST CHECK .. and other news continued! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. May 17-24, 2011 :clk:
Don: Another tour passes and so another update commences.
There were critters about, including eagles, and windy days and nights, but the real excitement on Santa Cruz will be starting around June 1st when we start banding some of the northern birds; Sauces and Pelican Harbor.
But for now we simply enjoyed the regular island sights while looking for and checking in on our regulars. Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Don: Kim got out to check on the Cueva Valdez pair's nest near Hazards and the chick still looks to be doing well, though it seems so young compared to all the others these days. But that's just because it was a late hatching, like last year.
It will be banded around June 22nd.Smugglers ~ Santa Cruz Island Over on the south side of the island we came across what looks to be one of our newer pairs and seems promising for next year.
I don't think we have an “official” title for them yet, but for now we are going to call them the “Smuggler's Pair”, A-57 (female) and A-58 (male).
Their section of coast.
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We were able to watch them for quite some time, including some attempts at fishing while a sea lion thrashed about with a large fish.
The gulls showed considerable interest too.
They were even kind enough to settle on a lower rock before we moved on. And they were still on the low rock when we passed back by.
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Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island Don: I spotted A-51 near Willows.
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Santa Cruz Island Update. May 24-31, 2011 :clk:
Helen: The islands experienced very high winds, with gusts of over 70 mph at times and average wind speeds often blowing between 35 and 40mph. This made it impossible to reach the Hazard’s nest or go out in the boat, so I am sorry to say you will have to wait for next week for updates on both Hazards and the PH pair’s nest.
Don & Kim’s upcoming tour should be really exciting though, with banding at the Sauces nest and the new PH pair nest scheduled.
Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island
Maria headed west to scan from a new ridgeline near Carl Peak. We thought she might get a sighting of the Malva Real/ Carl pair, but they didn’t seem to be around.
Smugglers ~ Santa Cruz Island
Tuesday, I was able to hike all the way from Scorpion to Smugglers, scanning the coastline and canyons along the way.
It was a great day, made complete by seeing the Smuggler’s pair, A-57 and A-58. I was lucky enough to see them multiple times during my hike.
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......... A-58 ............................. A-57 Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island Thursday, I went to the coast at Willows Anchorage, while Maria surveyed from just inland. We hoped to see where the Willows pair have been hanging out, but they never showed up. (Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the dates. Cumbrian - June 11, 2011 10:27 PM (GMT)
MEET .. A-75 ~ OAK CANYON EAGLET ... Official Name: ANACAPA The first chick to hatch on Anacapa Island since 1949 has been officially named "Anacapa" by the NAC committee.
Anacapa comes from the Chumash word eneepah, meaning mirage island. Hatch Date .............. Wingbling Number ............... Fledge Date
April 2011 ................... A-75 (M) .............................. July 1/11
Banded on June 7th, 2011 as a Female .. they got it wrong .. Anacapa is a Boy!:clk:
Anacapa Island Update, Banding on Anacapa: June 9, 2011 :clk:
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Santa Cruz Island Update: June 7-14, 2011 :clk:
Banding Day at OC Nest: Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 Cumbrian - June 18, 2011 09:11 AM (GMT)
CHECKING AROUND SANTA CRUZ. :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. June 7-14, 2011 :clk:
Helen: This was an exciting week. It began with the banding of the Oak Canyon chick on West Anacapa. I still get a little rush of happiness thinking about it. It was the first bald eagle chick on Anacapa since 1949 and so the chick has been officially named Anacapa. Very fitting! Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Helen: On Saturday I checked on the Hazards nest. The chick is looking active, alert, and healthy. I even got to see a few rounds of wingercizes!
Chick looking around alertly and wings flapping up and down.
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Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island While I was checking the nest, Maria went to the Malva Real pair’s territory. She walked along Johnson’s Lee to Punta Arena and looked at the unused ground nest they made earlier in the season. It was a poor excuse for a nest in the beginning of the season, and there is almost nothing left now.
The remains of the unused nest.
Maria didn’t just see the old nest, though, she got to see an adult orange-tagged bald eagle, almost definitely K-11, with only one wing tag on the right wing. Willows Anchorage Pair ~ Santa Cruz Island Wednesday was a quiet day, especially after all of Tuesday’s excitement. I took the boat out to the island and then surveyed on the south coast a little. I was lucky enough to see one very distant adult bald eagle far to the east of Valley Anchorage. I couldn’t get an ID, but it has been a popular spot with the Willows Pair this year, so one of them would be my best bet.
Naked-eye view.
While I was to the east watching what was probably one of the Willows Pair, Maria was surveying at their traditional territory above Willows Canyon, but didn’t see any.
On Friday there was some excitement. I decided to check get a closer look at the spot where I had seen a bald eagle on Wednesday. I was rewarded with an entire day of watching A-45 and A-51, the Willows Pair, perching and fishing from the east side of this spit of land. A-45 has lost his left wing tag, but otherwise both birds seemed well.
The circle shows where the bald eagle was when I arrived & the arrow shows where they moved after the 2nd one flew out from behind the bushes
This is the eagle I saw when I arrived (circled in picture above)
This is where the eagles spent most of the day perching (the arrow point to this spot in the above pic)
Meanwhile, Maria was down the coast checking another stretch of the Willows pair’s territory, but since they were over by me, she had to make due with seeing gorgeous coastal views, adorable island animals, and colorful island flora.(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - June 28, 2011 05:08 PM (GMT)
CRUISING ALONG SANTA CRUZ ISLAND. :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. June 14-21/22, 2011 :clk:
Don: Well..., another tour passes and the end of the banding season comes to a close. Kim and I stayed out an extra day to help out with the banding, but since it was really the start of Helen and Maria's tour they will bring you all the banding news and pictures. Besides, I was babysitting the boat during the actual banding so for now you'll have to settle for the pictures I took while waiting. There are a few decent ones in there.
So lets get going on the images of the week on Santa Cruz Island. Lots of pictures of the island and its inhabitants. We hope you'll enjoy the tour. Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island As I mentioned after our "regular" tour ended we stuck around for the Cueva Valdez pair's chick banding at Hazards.
We were lucky to have a perfect boat day which meant a boat ride of less than an hour each way and a 15-20 minute hike, instead of hours and hours on ATVs and hiking over the North Ridge. But it also meant someone would have to stay in the boat after dropping the others on shore. I (Don) volunteered which meant that I missed the banding, but I had some fun of my own while they were on shore.
I got to watch A-00 (“Papa Cueva”).
And “Mrs. Cueva”, A-16, was just around the corner.
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Helen and Maria will have lots more news (pictures) for you about A-76, “baby Cueva?”, in their update.
Obviously the parents were oblivious to the whole banding operation since they were on the coast the whole time. It's nice when we are able to avoid that added disturbance. :) Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island Went to check on the Fry's pair, A-24 and A-46. They didn't disappoint.
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Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island I spotted a pair of birds WAY over near the high point of Sierra Blanca ridge. I'm guessing it was the Malva Real pair, but for obvious reasons I couldn't read their tags. Or, for that matter, even see the color of them. (Ragged Mtn is the knob to the left, north, of the ridge where the circle is.)
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(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - July 4, 2011 05:54 AM (GMT)
MEET .. A-76 ~ CUEVA VALDEZ EAGLET ... Official Name: HUTASH Hutash .. The Chumash Earth Mother.
According to one legend, she created the Chumash people on Santa Cruz Island. Hatch Date ....................... Wingbling Number ............. Fledge Date
April 25/27, 2011 ................... A-76 (F)............................. July 15/11
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Santa Cruz Island Update: June 21-28, 2011 :clk:
Banding Day at Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest: Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 Cumbrian - July 4, 2011 06:56 AM (GMT)
UPDATES ON THE ANACAPA & SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS' NESTS & PAIRS. :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. June 21-28, 2011 :clk:
Oak Canyon ~ Anacapa Island Helen: Thursday .. we went out in the boat. It is not often that we get this many good boat days in a row, so we wanted to take advantage of it. Also, it was a particularly good day, ie. very flat seas, so we were able to go to Anacapa Island to check on the Oak Canyon chick.
It is a closed island, so we couldn’t land, but we were able to scan from the water. And while we couldn’t spot the nest or the chick from our angle, we did see both adults perched in the canyon, so it looks like they are still taking good care of A-75. Excellent!
Here is Oak Canyon from the water (the circle shows one of the adults, the other was a little higher up and obscured by the fog) Second photo is a Close –up.
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Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Wednesday .. after the previous day's banding .. Maria checked on the Hazards chick, A-76 who looked pretty good.
A-16 was nearby (nest is circled, arrow points to A-16) and A-00 was perched on the coast.
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Saturday .. I checked on the A-76 (the Hazards chick). I watched for 3 hours, and saw tons of preening, hopping around the nest, picking at nest-overs, and of course lots and lots of wingersizes.
Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island On the way to Hazards we saw the Fry's Harbor pair .. A-46 & A-24
Smugglers ~ Santa Cruz Island On the way over to Anacapa Island we spotted the Smugglers pair
One of the Smugglers birds was on a cliff. The close-up shows it was looking at us too.
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The other Smugglers eagle was on their favorite rock.
(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
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For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - July 11, 2011 05:17 PM (GMT)
A-75 ... ANACAPA ... HAS FLEDGED! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. June 28 - July 5, 2011 :clk:
Oak Canyon ~ Anacapa Island
Kim: As you have been aware, the Oak Canyon/Anacapa nest has been enshrouded in mystery all season long due to its inaccessibility. To make matters worse, A-75/Anacapa’s GPS transmitter appeared to fail on June 12th! Premature transmitter failure? So soon?!?!
This week, at last, not only did we receive a few data points, but they show that A-75 fledged on (or before) July 1st! Whoo hoo! We are hopeful that his solar-powered transmitter had been sitting in the shade too long. Unfortunately the seas were a little rough to make the journey to Anacapa Island to check on A-75 for ourselves. Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Nevertheless, we had a couple adequate boat days for shorter trips.
I hiked to the Hazards nest to check on A-76/Hutash. Still young for fledging, she was busy doing what eaglets do; perching and preening, rearranging sticks and perching some more.
Meanwhile, Don watched the adults, A-00 and A-16 perched on the coastline. Check out these fabulous photos!
For reference: (A-00 is at the top, A-16 at the bottom of the photo.)
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Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island We went westward along the coast, visiting A-24 and A-46 at Frys Harbor.
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......... A-46 .............................. A-24 I hiked up to the nest that we believe A-46 built further up the canyon, just to make sure they didn’t slip a chick unawares. I had a moment of excitement when I saw dark spot cast across the nest. Alas, upon closer inspection, I discovered it was just a shadow. Always hopeful.
Though they are consistently in the harbor area, we infrequently see them perched together. Today, they were seen sharing a branch before we left their territory. 
Later in the week, we made it out for a second boat day.
On this trip we found A-46 perched in a cove east of his more typical Fry’s Harbor, no doubt trying to escape the holiday weekend boat traffic. Can you blame him?
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(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
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For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - July 14, 2011 09:54 PM (GMT)
CHECKING ON THE EAGLET & FLEDGLINGS! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. July 5-12, 2011 :clk:
Helen: Hi all,
It has been a quiet but pleasant week. The tour consisted of checking on all the fledglings, surveying in the Malva Real pair's territory, and checking on the Hazards chick.
All of the fledglings seem to be thriving, the Malva pair are as elusive as usual, and A-76 seems healthy and alert in her nest at Hazards. Oak Canyon ~ Anacapa Island
Friday was another boat day. This time we went over to Anacapa to check on the fledgling there. It took a while, but it finally showed itself.
One of the adults was present keeping guard as well.
Anacapa as we arrived.
A-75 hanging out on the cliffs.
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Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island
Wednesday: Went out in the boat to Hazards.
The Hazards adults were guarding the mouth of the canyon, and A-76 is looking healthy and alert.
Maria got off there and hiked in to check on the chick while I went a little further west to scan the coastline.
Hazards nest at a distance
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A-00 perched on the cliffs east of the mouth of the nest canyon.
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A-16 perched on the slopes west on the nest canyon.
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Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island Wednesday: Maria and I went out in the boat along the North shore of the island, then went further west.
We stopped for a while to watch one of the Frys pair as we went by there.
Malva Real .. aka Carl Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Maria surveyed along the beach in the Malva territory.
She saw one adult and one blue-tagged juvenile near Punta Arena, but they flew west out of sight as she approached them.
As was posted earlier ... the Malva Real pair are as elusive as usual. (Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - July 26, 2011 07:00 PM (GMT)
A-76 ... HUTASH ... HAS FLEDGED! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. July 12-19, 2011 :clk:
Kim: Hello Friends,
Is anyone feeling the pangs of empty nest syndrome? Both sad and exciting, this week marks the end of a chapter for us: The last of the 2011 Channel Island bald eagle chicks has successfully fledged! :'( & :><: (Conflicted beings, we are.) Oak Canyon ~ Anacapa Island Weather conditions did not allow us to make the journey to Anacapa Island this week to check on A-75/Anacapa, but GPS data indicates that he is moving around Oak Canyon regularly. Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island I (Kim) hiked to Hazards on Friday to check on the Hazards chick. But A-76/Hutash is growing up just like the rest of them. No longer a chick, I found her sitting on a slope about 40 meters from her nest.
Her mother, A-16, remained vigilantly perched nearby.
Later in the week, I returned to find A-76 still on the same slope, having climbed another 60 meters or so toward the ridge top.
Not yet a confident flier, she moved about with flapping hops. ^"^ Just in the two days between my visits, her “flapping hops” were gaining more ground, and she had a bit more of the grace and coordination we associate with these majestic flyers.
Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island The Fry’s Harbor eagles, A-24 and A-46, were stationed on their typical perches. So silent and still, I wonder how many boat passengers cruise by these island eagles, completely unawares. We sure are hoping this pair nests next season.
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(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - July 31, 2011 08:59 PM (GMT)
A-75/ANACAPA and A-76/HUTASH ARE ENJOYING THEIR ISLANDS! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. July 19-26, 2011 :clk:
Maria: Welcome back to another amazing update from the SCI kids!
We had a great tour here on the island checking in on our chicks. They are growing up so fast!
Oak Canyon ~ Anacapa Island
Saturday was just plain LUCK! Another wonderfully flat water day!
For this day, we decided to head out to West Anacapa to check on A-75. The weather was warm, a light breeze blowing and Bald Eagles Flying.
As soon as we arrived we spotted 1 adult flying, being harassed and landing in what seemed to be a frequently used cave for a perch. When we viewed the adult landing we spotted A-75 very easily.
This was on one side of the mouth of the nest canyon. On the other side we spotted the other adult keeping an eye on things.
This adult quickly flew and met up with its mate in the cave. A-75 still hanging out above and a little back of the cliffs while A-11 and A-21 looking cozy. :Hugs:
A close up of A-75.
We were able to watch A-75 for a good hour. When A-75 flew off and out of view we knew that he’s doing quite well. :)^ Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island
Thursday we took a boat day out to check on A-76 in Hazards Canyon and also A-74 at Twin Harbors.
Now that A-76 has fledged (YAY!) we are using our handy dandy telemetry to track her down. Little did we know it was going to be a surprisingly rough ride. Based on conditions we made only a very quick check. Safety first kids!
Maria hiked in to a specific area in the main canyon to check on A-76, but did not get a visual. However, while she narrowed in and scanned this area parent A-16 was constantly circling and calling over her, at one point swooping over her to tell her she was in the right spot.
She landed in a tree opposite Maria to continue watching. A-76 is located somewhere in the area of the trees in the center/lower part of this picture. I've got my eagle eyes on you!
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Friday however was a day of water so flat we felt like we were on a lake! Helen and Maria decided to give A-74 and A-76 another try and this time we were rewarded with clear visuals AND photo's of both! :D
Maria first spotted A-76 flying off a boulder across from her nest tree to another boulder a small ways up canyon. A-76 from there flew to a boulder below Maria giving her a great view while concealed above a rocky overhang.
A-76 then crossed the canyon to land on a cliff near her nest tree.
......... In the air!.............. Perched and beautiful!
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In this picture you can see where she is perched in the lower right circle. The upper middle circle is A-76’s nest tree and the middle left circle is the tree where she flew to next!
We were very lucky that we caught her while she was so active!
Meanwhile, Helen was able to spot BOTH A-16 and A-00 just outside of Hazards Canyon overlooking the water.
(Pictures courtesy of Don, Helen, Kim and /or IWS Crew)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots more pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - August 7, 2011 05:42 PM (GMT)
WHO IS WHERE? :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. July 26 - August 2, 2011 :clk:
Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Don: My other major goal of this tour was to check on A-76, the Cueva Valdez pair's (A-00 and A-16) youngster, who is the last of this year's crop to fledge.
I was very fortunate to get a ride on one of the Park Service boats (Thank you, Ranger Randy!!!) to go see “Hutash” at Hazard's Canyon.
Looking up Hazard's.
Okay, where is that bird?!? Ahh..., I see you, A-76. Looking good. :)
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I even got to observe A-76 make a short flight.
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This whole flying thing is still a little new, but it looks like A-76 is picking it up just fine and has been exploring the canyon more and more.
On the boat ride back we had a very nice view of A-76's mama, A-16.
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Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island There was also a sighting of the Fry's pair, A-46 and A-24, but I only managed a picture of her. 
Smugglers ~ Santa Cruz Island Another interesting note, it would seem that A-57 and A-58, "the Smuggler's pair", are taking separate vacations.
A-58 has been spending some time on West Anacapa and A-57 has been over on the south side of Rosa. Now what's that all about?
Oh well, always more questions than answers in the natural environment, but then a little mystery is usually a good thing.
(Pictures courtesy of Don) (Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots more pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - August 13, 2011 12:31 AM (GMT)
UPDATE ON THE FLEDGLINGS! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. August 2-9, 2011 :clk:
Helen: This was a quiet week in a lot of ways, with empty nests all around the island.
Oak Canyon Nest ... Anacapa Island
A-75 has not been sending out GPS points for a week or so. Not to worry though, the GPS packs are solar powered, so it is likely not getting enough sun.
This is especially true if A-75 has started spending time in the small cave that both Oak Canyon adults perch in to escape the swarms of gulls at Anacapa. There wouldn’t be a lot of sunlight getting to the power pack there!
Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island
Sunday was really great because I got to see A-76/ Hutash, the Hazards chick. She was in a tree that was visible from the beach, but boy was she well camouflaged.
GPS shows A-76 is still spending most of her time right in Hazards.
....... Her tree ...................... Can you spot her? ................ There she is.
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Who knew that eagles had the ninja skill invisibilty! :ph43r: (Pictures courtesy of Helen)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots more pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - August 20, 2011 10:18 PM (GMT)
FOGGY CONDITIONS ON SANTA CRUZ ISLAND! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. August 9-16, 2011 :clk:
Don:The tour started off with some SERIOUS fog.
Needless to say, that didn't allow for very good eagle watching. And, unlike most times, this fog was going almost all the way down to the water.
Fortunately, the fog finally let up a bit and I managed to wrangle up an “assistant” for a day in the boat. I was really hoping I'd get a chance to check on A-76, our last fledgling of the year. Cueva Valdez .. aka Hazards Nest .. ~ Santa Cruz Island Along the coastline was the Cueva pair, A-00 (lower left) and A-16 (upper right).
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....A-16, “Mama”...................... A-00, “Papa”.
And A-76, “Hutash”. She's making it down close to the shore these days.
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And a little perspective of mama watching over her baby.
A little more deceptive perspective, they are still in their more distant positions (as above), but I liked the angle.......................................
Fry's Harbor ~ Santa Cruz Island The first eagle we came across was A-46 near his usual Fry's Harbor haunts.
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He made a move to a tree-top as we watched, but that was about it, and since we had a youngster to check on we didn't stick around long.
We didn't see A-24 around at the time, but I imagine she wasn't too far away.
I'm really counting on these two to nest next season, I'm just hoping we can come up with an easy way to monitor their nest. Hiking in to it is not what one would call anything close to …, umm..., pleasurable. :Melt: (Pictures courtesy of Don)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots more pictures, click on the date. Cumbrian - September 1, 2011 07:55 PM (GMT)
POPPING OVER TO ANACAPA ISLAND! :clk:
Santa Cruz Island Update. August 16-23, 2011 :clk:
Helen: About a month ago A-75/ Anacapa’s GPS transmitter died. Transmitters are temperamental, and there are lots of reasons that it could have failed, but I wanted to check on little Anacapa anyway.
This involved getting out on a boat, but, for safety reasons we can’t go out alone in our little zodiac. Fortunately, IWS has great allies in the park service, and I was able to get a lift over from Ranger Merrill. A huge ‘thank you’ to him, since without his help I would never have gotten over to the island.
We went over to Anacapa, scanned the nest area, motored back and forth along the shoreline, and even circled the island. I saw many red-tailed hawks, some gorgeous sea lions, and even an osprey, but no eagles. I am guessing that they were either hunkered down a bit inland of the shore, which is not visible from the water, or more likely, they may have moved back to Santa Cruz Island’s east end. Maybe Don and Ania can solve the mystery this tour.
Here’s a shot of the lighthouse on Anacapa.
And of course the iconic Arch Rock.
(Pictures courtesy of Helen)
(Click on thumbnails to see full size)
For complete update and lots more pictures, click on the date. 
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