Santa Cruz Update, August 22, 2007

[IWS Crew]

Hey All,

Not the happiest week here on the island. As most of you know, last week A-63 was found dead on a highway in northern Nevada. Although we've had to deal with the death of a number of eagles over the past 5 years, we're always sad to find out that one of 'our birds' didn't make it. Fortunately we've had great success over the years, and the majority of our birds are surviving, and thriving, on and off the islands.

We'd like to thank you all for your kind words and wonderful tributes to A-63 (Limuw).

This week weed like to update you on a few of our other 'special birds': A-49 (Cruz), A-60 (grassland nest), A-46 (Stephen Jr.) and A-39 (another mainland traveler).

A-49 has recently moved from Anacapa and is now back on Santa Rosa. This is becoming a fairly predictable seasonal pattern for a number of our birds.

The yellow dot is the most recent location.

A-60 is still on Anacapa


A-46 is on a small island off the coast of Washington (Protection Island)


A-39 found her way back to northern British Columbia. She's by far our most widely traveled bird.


That's all we have for now; we'll talk to you all next week. Thanks again for all your concern.

Dave

[peppermint]

Dave: thanks for all the good and hopeful updates of our other special birds...glad to hear that A-60 is staying out on the safe islands, too. Are his parents still together or did they split?

[Rogrnnr2]

Thank you, Dave

[Bea]

Dave, thank you for the "travel" maps. I love to see where they have been.

[Eagle Duo]

Thanks for the report on the other SC eagles, Dave! And our condolences to you and the rest of the crew regarding A63. Your devotion to these beautiful birds goes beyond a 'job'. I know your hearts must be hurting too.

Looks like Stephen Jr. is heading back towards Canada! But he's found a great little island for now. I checked it out on Google Earth and found this about it.

Protection Island is an island lying in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just north of Discovery Bay in northeastern Jefferson County, Washington, USA. The island has a land area of 1.534 kmē (379.11 acres). It is a Federally-protected nature preserve; boats are not permitted within 200 yards (183 m). There are several inholdings, including one resident who serves as a caretaker of the preserve. Protection Island is known for its breeding colony of Tufted Puffin, one of the few such locations south of British Columbia. It is on the flyway for many migrating birds. Seals, sea lions, orcas, and other cetaceans are often seen nearby. Boat trips from nearby Port Townsend, Washington provide ecotourism visits for viewing wildlife from the adjacent waters.

Sounds like a beautiful area for him!

Glad to see Cruz and A60 are both staying close to home.

[Joanie]

Thanks for another great update.... we so appreciate you taking the time to devise and post these charts for us to see.... wish we could have GPS Trackers on our Catalina birds as well!
Our hearts go out to you and the rest of the crew who are so dedicated to this worthy cause

[harpo516]

Thank you Dave for the update info! The maps are super ways for us to see where the eagles go and are! Very interesting in how some travel up and down the coast - that juvenile wandering - and others wander from island to island, staying close to "home"!

Thanks for allowing us to be a part of the lives of all the eagles - the ups and the downs.

[saraoh]

Thank you Dave.

[Naturegal]

Thank you Dave for sharing all this great information with us. There are sure some well-travelled eagles out there but I am happy that A-49 and A-60 are staying close to home.

[cobimaui]

Thank you Dave and Eagle Duo for the positive remarks regarding the flight patterns of some Eagles. Eagle Duo, the information you provided on Protection Island was very reassuring. I know last year about this time I was visiting some very close friends of mine that live on the very southern tip of Whidbey Island and I saw dozens of Bald Eagles soaring in the sky on a dailty basis. What a beautiful sight that is to see!

[Paula eaglet momster]

Thank you Dave and the whole IWS crew for your information and updates. I love seeing where the eagles have traveled. Bet you guys could spend all your time updating maps, LOL. Seriously, Thanks!

[Bird]

Thanks, Dave! Like the others, I so enjoy seeing where the eagles soar. My heart goes out to all of you.

[Patti]

Thank you, Dave, for the good maps. A-46 really seems to like the Pacific Northwest--and I don't blame him. Thank you, Jann, for the Protection Island infomation. A-39 is something, too!

[Loverofchicks]

Thanks Dave, the update on these special eagles is a soothing balm on my broken heart. I can only image all of you that actually touched Limuw, your pain of losing such an important part of your hard work. Our hearts will settle and next year we will see our parents once again fulfill their destiny. I am so in awe of the fact that you can show the travels of our eagles. Again Thanks, Frances

[Vynah Bird]

Thank you, Dave...........It is heartening and reassuring to know that many of the eagles who fly so far away from their birth nests are well and flourishing. It soothes some of the sting of Limuw's tragic death.