Santa Cruz Wednesday Update, April 26, 2007

[IWS Crew]

Hey All,

Ryan and I were on Santa Cruz all last week, while Kim was on Santa Rosa. The nest searching season is starting wind down, unfortunately without us finding any new nesting pairs this year. We're still keeping an eye on the 'Santa Cruz North Side Pair', but they still don't seem to be building a nest, not to mention laying any eggs. Ryan and I saw them both in the usual location last week, hanging around the coastline together. The female of the pair (A-16) is only 4 years old, so maybe she's decided to wait another year before she settles down. We're going to keep watching them closely, but it's starting to get pretty late for them to lay eggs this year.

Kim had much the same story to tell this week from Santa Rosa. A-08 and A-22 have been together for several months now, almost always on the Northwest shore of the island. A-22 (female) is only 3 years old, so it would have been pretty surprising for them to attempt a nest this year. Kim watched them for a couple days again last week, but didn't see any signs of nesting behavior. Oh well, we'll be expecting more from them next spring.

The other birds on the islands have been moving around pretty freely. A large number of the birds we're currently tracking are on Anacapa island, with a handful on Santa Cruz and only a couple left on Santa Rosa. A-49 is still here on Santa Cruz. She's been spending most of her time on the southwest coast, probably honing her newly developing fishing skills.

The Santa Cruz chick is growing like a weed! It's hard to believe he/she will only be two weeks old tomorrow! It's amazing how much food the little fluffball can pack away, and how fast it's processed. We're going to have a couple media folks out next Tuesday. We'll be taking them up to our observation tent near the nest, where they can see the video equipment and get an idea of what it takes to get the nest live on the web. David Luff (A.K.A. 'NinjaShirpa'), from the Ventura County Office of Education, will also be coming out to check on the webcam electronics. We're hoping he can troubleshoot some of the problems the camera has been having over the past few weeks. It may come down to replacing the camera, but we're hoping that can wait until banding day, as we don't want to disturb the nest before then. If we have to, we can put another camera in the same location we had it last year. Since it's considerably farther from the nest, we could get in and out with very little disturbance to the birds. Anyhow, we'll let you know what we come up with after David has a chance to look things over.

On another note, I've decided to try moving EagleFix from TypePad to Blogger. Typepad has been working pretty well for us, but it costs a few dollars a month, and Blogger is free! I've spent a few hours over the past couple days trying to get the new site looking similar to the old Typepad site, and I'm almost there...with a few minor adjustments. The next step it to get the URL to display as www.eaglefix.com, without the .blogspot. I know it can be done, but it may take me a few days to figure it out. You can check out the new site at this link: Blogspot EagleFix

Well, that's about all for this week. I'll talk to you all again.

Dave

[Madison99]

Thanks Dave. Great update. Thanks so much for keeping us in the loop, we all appreciate it very much. You all rock!!!

[saraoh]

Dave, it's good to hear from you, as always. Thanks for the update. Cruz is learning how to fish??!! Awwwww...
I'll be checking out the new Eaglefix when I finish here. Thanks for your persistent attention to our needs. We appreciate your many talents!

[helen b.]

Thanks, Dave, for another great update - and of course any news on #49 is always appreciated.

[kljinusa]

Thanks, Dave, for the informative update. I updated my signature for your new EagleFix link.

We hope to see someone from your IWS team this weekend on our A-49 Cruzers Tours of Santa Cruz & Santa Rosa, but no one has confirmed. I hope you are going to suprise us.

I would love to see A-49 myself, practicing her fishing skills.

[Eagle Duo]

Thanks for the information, Dave, and for doing all you (and the whole team) do for the eagles and us. You're all our heros!

I also updated L*I*N*K*S with both links for the time being. Let us know when to remove the old one and I will.

[Patti]

Hi Dave! I'll do the same as Eagle Duo did, and post both links in the pinned Eaglefix.com thread here.

Great report---all news, each week, is much appreciated.

[Loverofchicks]

Thanks Dave for the great update. I am glad to know our Princess is still on her home island. Her little sibling is growing up fast. don't take them long. We will be watching for the Santa Cruz North side pair start nesting next year . I bet they look really cute together. You all do such a great job.
Frances

[Cockney2]

Thanks for the wonderful update....always greatly appreciated. It is nice to kbnow our "Cruz" is back on Santa Cruz.......maybe she'll give us a fly-over on Saturday.
Again, many thanks.