Santa Cruz Wednesday Update, May 2, 2007

Hi Eagle Fans,

Welcome to another Wednesday Update. We are delighted that so many eagleholics could make it out to Santa Cruz Island this past weekend. Andy, Karen, and I were thrilled to converse with such an enthusiastic group of individuals, many of whom traveled long distances to catch a glimpse of wild nesting bald eagles in Southern California. It’s amazing how a common interest can unite so many, creating everlasting friendships and building a strong local impetus for wildlife restoration. I hope everyone who came to Santa Cruz Island had a wonderful time. Thank you all for the support and the sincere gifts- nothing beats coffee and chocolate.

Andy, Karen, and I continued to search for nests this past week…no new nests to report. Unfortunately, that about does it for the nesting season this year. If the eagles aren’t nesting by now, more than likely they will not nest this season. We have three new pairs (new as of this year) that could have possibly nested: A-08 And A-22 on Santa Rosa, A-00 and A-16 on Santa Cruz, and A-11 and A-21 on Anacapa/ Santa Cruz. For one reason or another, not one of the three new pairs successfully nested this spring, and combined with the failure of the south side nest (A-04 and K-11), this breeding season has been a bit disappointing. Luckily, we have K-10, K-26, and the chick, as well as your unrelenting support to energize the somewhat enervated IWS crew.

The project focus has now shifted to concentrate on the success of what we do have- a healthy quickly maturing bald eagle chick. Additionally, we have been discussing the upcoming trapping season, a very important part of the project geared towards collecting blood and equipping older eagles with new GPS/VHF transmitters. Collecting blood samples are imperative to the determination of toxins in the eagles and in their surrounding ecosystems. The consensus is that floating fish as bait will prove to be the most successful method for trapping. The targeted eagle will be presented a floating fish, and when the eagle swoops down and grabs the fish, its talons will become entangled in a set of snares. Nearby in the boat, the IWS team will arrive in seconds to scoop up the eagle in a large net. The eagle will then be quickly ‘worked up’ and released. Recently, we have been floating snare-less fish for eagles to assess the effectiveness of this trapping method. The initial results have been fantastic!

That about sums it up for the week. Here are some pictures to enjoy.
-Chris


The eagleholics arrive on Santa Cruz Island and are greeted with an island orientation by Island Packers.


A-00 and A-16 are on a favorite perch on the North Shore. We hope to trap at least one of these eagles in the months ahead.


K-10 grabs a floated fish from the water while we watch from the boat. We do not plan on trapping any eagles from Catalina (orange tags), but data collected from such an experiment will help us catch other eagles around the island. K-10’s reaction to the floating fish was instantaneous.

Great update, Chris... thank you for giving US such positive reinforcement and I hope you know how much it meant to us to have the 3 of you meet us on our arrival at Prisoner's. It was a wonderful weekend and I believe that I speak for us all when I say that the more we learn about the Restoration Project itself and the conditions under which you work and the scope of your jobs, that we are ever more impressed with the work y'all do out there!
Hula-Bird will be happy to hear that you are enjoying the macadamia nut chocolates and coffee from her home state of Hawaii!
Did you see the article that was in the Los Angeles Times/California Section on Sunday or, at the very least, get someone you know to save one for you? I Would be interested in your perspective.

Thanks, Chris!

Thanks Chris for the great update - it was wonderful of Karen, Andy, and you to meet us on Santa Cruz - really appreciate the info and pics you share with us each week.

Thanks Chris and fantastic pictures. Loved the one of K-10 doing his fishing to bring back food for the family

I agree -- I do so appreciate all the work all of you do. And see what I know? I thought it was a very successful breeding season. At least it was historical, right? Now we have three more couples to anticipate chicks from next year!

Thanks for the great pictures and the information about trapping the eagles, Chris. Very interesting. I hope you will be able to get some really good pictures of the event.

I'm interested in the feral pig eradication and the lone golden eagle still left on Santa Cruz. My guestion is, is IWS involved with the efforts to reintroduce the island fox and searching for that eagle? The next paragraph is pasted up from another thread.

Rusty and I shared a seat with a New Zealander that was picked up @ Scorpian, on his way home. He is a helicopter pilot and worked for the company that NPS contracted to eradicate the wild pigs from Santa Cruz so our little foxes could thrive. They think they got them all, but there will be some monitering for the next few months. Meanwhile, a very sly golden eagle is still on SC and she has killed a couple foxes recently. Most of the foxes are tagged, so they are able to locate the carcasses, found up in the trees. This eagle is proving to be very elusive, avoiding the traps and, as far as he knew, had not even been spotted by those who are watching. It was really interesting to talk to him.

Thank you for the great photos and for meeting and speaking to the A-49 Cruzers on April 28th.

Another great update. Thanks again for all of your hard work.

Chris, thanks for the informative, as always, update and the great photos!

I hope bald eagles don't have long memories, as some other avian species seem to possess. The fish lure & trapping....

Karen, very interesting about the golden eagle. Hope the IWS crew can tell us more about this.

Hi Chris and the rest of the IWS team out there. I love your update as usual you let us in on stuff we would never know. Loved the photos and especially the one of our Dad diving for the fish for the family. You make my Wednesdays so great at the end of the day. Frances

Thanks, Chris! It was great meeting you and your crew on Saturday...you always have the MOST exquisite photos....just breathtaking...thanks!

Thanks so much for another wonderful update and photos.